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THE  YOUTH'S 

PLUTARCH'S  LIVES 

FOR  BOYS  AND  GIRLS 

CONTAINING 

BRIEF    AND    ACCURATE    ACCOUNTS 

OF     THE     LIVES     OF    FAMOUS 

GREEKS    AND    ROMANS 


EDITED 

WITH    INTRODUCTION    AND   NOTES    BY 

EDWARD   S.   ELLIS,    M.A. 

Author  of  "  The    Young   People  s    Standard  History  of  the 
United  States;"   "Common  Errors  in   Writing  and 
Speaking  /"   "  The  Youth's  Classical  Diction- 
ary /"   "  The  Youth's  Dictionary  of 
Mythology ,"  etc. 


NEW  YORK 

THE   WOOLFALL   COMPANY 

1895 


Copyrighted  by 
THE  WOOLFALL  COMPANY 

1895 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction, 
Theseus, 
Romulus, 
Lycurgus, 

NUMA,  .... 

Solon,      .... 

Publicola, 

Themistocles, 

Camillus, 

Pericles, 

Fabius  Maximus, 

Alcibiades, 

Caius  Marcius  Coriolanus, 

Timoleon, 

Paulus  ^milius,     . 

Pelopidas, 

Marcellus, 

Aristides, 

Cato,  the  Censor, 

Philopcemen,    . 

Titus  Quinctius  Flaminius, 

Pyrrhus, 

Caius  Marius, 

Lysander,    .    . 

Sylla 


page 
5 

15 
20 
24 
31 
36 
40 
42 
45 
5o 
56 
63 
67 
70 

73 
77 
79 
84 
86 
90 
91 
93 
98 
102 
105 


832772 


4                                       CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Cimon, 108 

LUCULLUS, 

109 

NlCIAS,         .            .             .            . 

118 

Marcus  Crassus, 

123 

Sertorius, 

126 

EUMENES, 

130 

Agesilaus, 

133 

POMPEY,      .... 

135 

Alexander, 

i54 

Julius  Caesar, 

171 

Phocion, 

182 

Cato,  the  Younger, 
Agis, 

183 
185 

Cleomenes, 

188 

Tiberius  Gracchus, 

192 

Caius  Gracchus, 

194 

Demosthenes,   . 

197 

Cicero, 

202 

Demetrius, 

208 

Antony,    . 

211 

Dion, 

215 

Marcus  Brutus, 

218 

Artaxerxes, 

220 

Aratus,     . 

222 

Weights,  Measures,  and 

Money, 

224 

Chronological  Table, 

225 

Index, 

231 

INTRODUCTION. 


The  name  of  Plutarch  will  be  remembered 
through  all  ages  to  come.  He  was  born  at 
Chaeronea,  in  Boeotia,  Greece,  probably  about 
a.d.  45  or  50,  and  studied  philosophy  under 
Ammonius  at  Delphi,  at  the  time  of  Nero's 
visit  to  Greece,  66  a.d.  Plutarch  traveled  ex- 
tensively in  Italy,  visited  Egypt,  and  spent 
some  time  in  Rome,  where  he  lectured  on 
philosophy.  Returning  to  his  native  city,  he 
held  office  as  a  magistrate  and  died  at  an  ad- 
vanced age.  He  is  known  to  have  married, 
and  was  the  father  of  at  least  five  children, 
of  whom  two  sons  survived  to  manhood. 

This  famous  scholar  wrote  many  works, 
there  being  sixty  extant  bearing  his  name 
and  treating  of  various  subjects.  They  were 
collected  under  the  common  title  of  Moralia 
and  translated  into  English  by  several  au- 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

thors.  The  work,  however,  which  made  him 
famous  in  antiquity,  and  afterward  in  all 
time,  is  his  Parallel  Lives,  edited  by  C.  Sin- 
tenis  (4  volumes,  Leipsic,  1639-53),  and  trans- 
lated into  all  European  languages.  It  has 
been  translated  into  English  several  times 
by  North,  under  the  name  of  Dryden,  and  by 
John  and  William  Langhorne.  The  Dryden 
translation  was  revised  and  corrected  by  A. 
H.  Clough.  It  consists  of  forty-six  biogra- 
phies, divided  into  pairs — one  from  Greek  and 
one  from  Roman  history. 

The  question  naturally  occurs  as  to  why 
this  work  has  exercised  such  a  charm  over 
young  and  old,  educated  and  uneducated, 
through  the  past  centuries,  and  why  such 
charm  has  in  no  way  diminished  to-day. 
There  are  two  causes:  the  subjects  treated 
and  their  method  of  treatment.  The  sub- 
jects are  men  who  in  their  lives  were  the 
workers-out  of  the  destiny  of  their  time,  and 
who  after  they  crumbled  to  dust  became 
models  in  all  the  after  ages  for  those  who 
aspire  to  become  great  and  to  make  their  im- 
press upon  human  events.     Plutarch  attempts 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

no  analyses  of  the  genius  of  those  men  and  of 
their  influence,  but  with  a  quick  outline  of 
the  political  and  historical  stature  of  the 
man,  he  vivifies  his  character  by  a  series  of 
personal  traits  which  are  as  comprehensible 
to  the  uneducated  as  to  the  educated  mind. 
While  he  is  not  a  historian,  he  is  always  in- 
structive and  entertaining,  for  he  himself 
possessed  comprehensive  knowledge,  was 
sympathetic  with  all  that  was  great  and  good, 
and  wielded  a  pen  that  never  failed  to  charm 
because  it  was  tipped  with  the  fire  of  genius. 

Anything  relating  to  this  extraordinary 
genius  is  interesting.  His  wife  was  Ti- 
moxena,  the  daughter  of  Alexion.  Late  in 
life  a  daughter  was  born  to  them  but  died. 
How  pathetic  and  lofty  is  the  letter  addressed 
to  his  wife  upon  learning  of  the  death  of  this 
beloved  child! 

"Plutarch  to  his  wife,  greeting:  The  mes- 
sengers you  sent  to  announce  our  child's 
death  apparently  missed  the  road  to  Athens. 
I  was  told  about  my  daughter  on  reaching 
Tanagra.  Everything  relating  to  the  funeral 
I  suppose  to  have  been  already  performed ; 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

my  desire  is  that  all  these  arrangements  may 
have  been  so  made  as  will  now  and  in  the 
future  be  most  consoling  to  yourself.  If 
there  is  anything  which  you  have  wished  to 
do  and  have  omitted,  awaiting  my  opinion, 
and  which  you  think  would  be  a  relief  to  you, 
it  shall  be  attended  to,  apart  from  all  excess 
and  superstition,  which  no  one  would  like 
less  than  yourself.  Only,  my  wife,  let  me 
hope,  that  you  will  maintain  both  me  and 
yourself  within  the  reasonable  limits  of  grief. 
What  our  loss  really  amounts  to,  I  know  and 
estimate  for  myself.  But  should  I  find  your 
grief  excessive,  my  trouble  on  your  account 
will  be  greater  than  on  that  of  our  loss.  I 
am  not  a  'stock  or  stone,'  as  you,  my  partner 
in  the  care  of  our  numerous  children,  every- 
one of  whom  we  have  ourselves  brought  up 
at  home,  can  testify.  And  this  child,  a 
daughter,  born  to  your  wishes  after  four 
sons,  and  affording  me  the  opportunity  of  re- 
cording your  name,  I  am  well  aware  was  a 
special  object  of  affection." 

After  referring  to  the  sweet  temper  and 
loving  ways  of   the  child,   the  father  says: 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

"  Yet  why  should  we  forget  the  reasonings 
we  have  often  addressed  to  others,  and  re- 
gard our  present  pain  as  obliterating  and  effac- 
ing our  former  joys?"  The  letter  closes  with 
expressions  of  his  belief  in  the  immortality 
of  every  human  soul. 

A  great  man  it  may  be  said  is  great  in 
small  things.  Plutarch  was  as  attentive  to 
his  humbler  as  to  his  more  important  duties. 
Referring  to  Epaminondas  as  giving  dignity 
to  the  office  of  chief  scavenger,  he  says: 
"  And  I,  too,  for  that  matter,  am  often  a  jest 
to  my  neighbors,  when  they  see  me,  as  they 
frequently  do,  in  public,  occupied  on  very 
similar  duties ;  but  the  story  told  about  An- 
tisthenes  comes  to  my  assistance.  When 
some  one  expressed  surprise  at  his  carrying 
home  some  pickled  fish  from  market  in  his 
own  hands.  '//  is, '  he  answered,  for  myself. ' 
Conversely,  when  I  am  reproached  with 
standing  by  and  watching  while  tiles  are 
measured  out,  and  stone  and  mortar  brought 
up.  This  service,  I  say,  is  not  for  myself,  it  is 
for  my  country." 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  Plutarch's 


IO  INTRODUCTION. 

Lives  are  biography,  not  history.  In  the 
words  of  Montaigne,  "  He  is  a  philosopher 
that  teaches  us  virtue.  It  was  probably  his 
purpose  to  show  that  the  great  men  of  his 
native  land  had  no  cause  to  fear  comparison 
with  those  of  proud  Rome,  which  led  him  to 
give  the  biographies  in  pairs,  one  Greek  and 
one  Roman  in  each  pair,  but  such  a  great 
man  as  Plutarch  could  not  be  partial  or 
morally  undignified.  He  condemned  and 
commended  with  unerring  judgment,  and 
sought  to  bring  back  to  the  Romans  a  re- 
minder of  the  qualities  which  in  their  fore- 
fathers conquered  the  world,  "and  to  indi- 
cate that  oft-proven  certainty  that  the  loss  of 
moral  sanity  must  sooner  or  later  entail 
political  disintegration  and  national  decay." 
It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  Lives  were 
translated  and  printed  in  Latin  more  than  a 
century  before  the  appearance  of  the  first 
printed  edition  of  the  original  Greek  works. 
Amyot,  a  French  abbe,  published  a  transla- 
tion in  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  of  England, 
from  which  Sir  T.  North  rendered  it  into 
English  in  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth.     By 


INTRODUCTION.  II 

careful  research,  Amyot  made  many  correc- 
tions in  the  text.  Dryden  lent  his  name  to  a 
translation  written  by  probably  a  score  of 
different  hands,  with  the  inevitable  result  of 
"  a  motley  work,  full  of  errors,  irregularities 
and  inconsistencies."  The  appearance  of  the 
admirable  translation  by  John  and  William 
Langhorne  removed  the  necessity  for  any 
other. 

We  have  deemed  it  advisable  to  place  at 
the  head  of  each  biography  a  summary  of  its 
salient  points.  Plutarch  gave  little  attention 
to  dates,  and  while  it  is  impossible  to  recall 
the  words  of  his  captivating  narratives,  it  is 
easy  to  fix  in  the  mind  the  important  and  lead- 
ing facts  in  the  career  of  those  whose  lives 
he  relates.  This  will  supply  the  historical 
data  necessary  to  a  complete  understanding 
of  the  biography. 

The  eulogies  of  Plutarch  are  immeasurable. 
King  Henry  IV.  of  France,  upon  being  told 
that  his  wife  was  pleased  with  the  perusal  of 
Plutarch's  Lives,  wrote  to  her:  "You  could 
not  have  sent  me  tidings  more  agreeable. 
To  love  Plutarch  is  to  love  me,  for  he  was 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

the  instructor  of  my  early  years;  and  my 
good  mother,  to  whom  I  owe  so  much,  who 
watched  over  the  formation  of  my  character, 
and  who  was  wont  to  say  that  she  had  no  desire 
to  see  her  son  an  illustrious  ignoramus,  put 
this  book  into  my  hands  when  I  was  little 
more  than  an  infant  at  the  breast.  It  has 
been  my  conscience,  and  has  whispered  in 
my  ear  many  good  suggestions  and  maxims 
for  my  conduct  and  the  government  of  my 
affairs." 

Jean  Jacques  Rousseau  affirmed  that  he 
never  read  Plutarch  without  profit ;  Madame 
Roland  referred  to  it  as  "  the  pasture  of  great 
souls,"  and  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  made  the 
prophecy  that  "  Plutarch  will  be  perpetually 
re-discovered  from  time  to  time,  as  long  as 
books  last." 

It  is  to  be  deplored  that  many  of  the  writ- 
ings of  this  incomparable  genius  have  disap- 
peared beyond  recovery.  "  What  a  triology 
is  lost  to  mankind  in  his  Lives  of  Scipio, 
Epaminondas,  and  Pindar!"  Not  a  scrap  re- 
mains of  his  commentaries  on  Homer  and 
Hesiod,  nor  of  his  essays  and  fables. 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

The  learned  Theodoras  Gaza,  of  the  Fif- 
teenth Century,  uttered  what  is  perhaps  the 
most  striking  tribute  ever  rendered  to  the 
genius  of  Plutarch.  Being  asked  that  if 
learning  were  doomed  to  suffer  general  ship- 
wreck, and  it  was  given  him  to  choose  the 
one  author  that  should  survive,  he  replied, 
"  Give  me  Plutarch." 

Agathias,  who  nourished  in  the  Sixth  Cen- 
tury, is  the  author  of  the  following  epigram : 

"  Chasronean  Plutarch,  to  thy  deathless  praise 
Does  martial  Rome  this  grateful  statue  raise, 
Because  both  Greece  and  she  thy  fame  have  shared, 
(Their  heroes  written,  and  their  lives  compared). 
But  thou  thyself  couldst  never  write  thy  own; 
Their  lives  have  parallels,  but  thine  has  none." 

E.  S.  E. 
July,  1895. 


THE  YOUTH'S 
PLUTARCH'S  LIVES 

OF 

FAMOUS  GREEKS  AND  ROMANS. 


THESEUS. 


Note. — Theseus  (Greek).  About  all  that  is  known, 
in  addition  to  the  sketch  given  by  Plutarch,  of 
this  famous  king  is  that  the  facts  occurred  during 
the  thirteenth  century  B.C. 

The  mother  of  Theseus  was  iEthra,  and  in  his 
youth  he  was  committed  to  the  care  of  Pittheus, 
his  grandfather,  governor  of  the  small  city  of  the 
Trcezenians.  This  man  was  reputed  to  be  the 
possessor  of  wonderful  knowledge  and  wisdom. 

In  his  youth,  Theseus  displayed  great  strength 
of  body,  undaunted  courage,  and  quickness  alike 
of  force  and  understanding.  On  the  road  to 
Athens,  he  slew  Periphates,  near  Epidaurus,  and 
took  away  his  club;  killed  Sinnis,  often  surnamed 
the  Bender  of  Pines;  the  Crommyonian  Sow, 
called  Phcea ;    and  Sciron,   said  to  have   been   a 


l6  THE    YOUTH'S 

notorious  robber  (though  others  claim  he  was  a 
good  man) .  There  were  many  victims  to  the 
prowess  of  Theseus,  who,  despite  his  numerous 
valiant  exploits,  was  guilty  of  flagrant  crimes  and 
immoralities. 

When  Theseus  arrived  at  manhood,  he  went  to 
Delphi,  as  was  the  custom,  to  offer  the  first  fruits 
of  his  hair  to  Apollo.  He  shaved,  however,  only 
the  front  part,  as  Homer  tells  us  the  Abantes  did. 
Because  of  this,  that  kind  of  tonsure  was  called 
Theseis.  The  Abantes  were  a  warlike  people,  who 
found  that  long  hair  was  a  disadvantage  in  close 
fighting,  of  which  they  were  fond.  It  was  for  a 
similar  reason  that  Alexander  of  Macedon  ordered 
his  troops  to  cut  off  their  beards. 

Theseus  was  a  relative  of  the  great  Hercules, 
whose  marvelous  exploits  fired  him  to  imitation. 
After  the  deeds  that  have  been  referred  to,  The- 
seus, hoping  to  make  himself  popular  with  the 
Athenians,  left  Athens  to  fight  with  the  bull  of 
Marathon,  which  had  done  much  mischief  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Tetrapolis.  He  captured  the  bull 
and  brought  him  alive  to  Athens,  where  he  was 
sacrificed  to  the  Delphinian  Apollo. 

The  next  exploit  of  Theseus  was  against  the 
Minotaur — 

"A  mingled  form,  prodigious  to  behold, 
Half  bull,  half  man." 

Ariadne,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Crete,  had 
fallen  in  love  with  Theseus,  and  gave  him  great 
help  in  this  famous  encounter,  by  handing  to  him 
a  sword  and  a  long  thread.     The  latter  was  un- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  17 

wound,  as  he  followed  the  devious  turnings  of  the 
labyrinth  to  where  the  Minotaur  sheltered  him- 
self, and  gave  the  necessary  guidance  to  Theseus 
in  making  his  way  out  again.  He  slew  the  Mino- 
taur, and  carried  away  Ariadne  with  him. 

On  his  return  from  Crete,  Theseus  put  in  at 
Delos  ;  and  having  sacrificed  to  Apollo,  and  dedi- 
cated a  statue  to  Venus,  which  he  received  from 
Ariadne,  he  joined  the  young  men  in  a  dance, 
which  imitated  the  mazes  and  outlets  of  the  laby- 
rinth, in  which  the  Minotaur  had  sheltered  him- 
self, and  with  all  its  varying  movements  per- 
formed in  regular  time.  He  also  instituted  games 
in  Delos,  where  he  originated  the  custom  of  giving 
a  palm  to  the  victors. 

Drawing  near  Attica,  Theseus  and  the  pilot 
were  in  such  high  spirits  that  they  forgot  to  hoist 
the  sail  which  was  to  be  the  signal  to  .ZEgeus  of 
their  safety.  He  was  so  overcome  with  despair 
at  their  supposed  death  that  he  threw  himself 
from  the  rock  and  was  dashed  to  pieces. 

JEgeus  being  dead,  Theseus  undertook  a  stu- 
pendous work.  He  sent  to  consult  the  oracle 
of  Delphi  concerning  the  fortune  of  his  new  gov- 
ernment and  city,  and  received  this  answer : 

"  Son  of  the  Pitthean  maid, 
To  your  town  the  terms  and  fates 
My  father  gives  of  many  states. 
Be  not  anxious  nor  afraid; 
The  bladder  will  not  fail  to  swim 
On  the  waves  that  compass  him." 

This  was  b.c.  1235.     Theseus  settled  all  the  in- 
habitants of  Attica  in  Athens,  and  made  them  one 
2 


l8  THE    YOUTH'S 

people  in  one  city.  He  dissolved  the  corporations, 
councils,  and  courts  of  each  particular  town,  and 
built  one  common  Prytaneum  and  court  hall.  He 
resigned  his  kingly  power,  and  organized  the 
commonwealth  under  the  auspices  of  the  gods. 
He  divided  the  people  into  noblemen,  husband- 
men, and  mechanics.  To  the  nobility  were  as- 
signed the  care  of  religion,  the  supplying  of  the 
city  with  magistrates,  the  expounding  of  the  laws, 
and  the  interpretation  of  whatever  related  to  the 
worship  of  the  gods. 

The  nobles  excelled  in  dignity,  the  husbandmen 
in  usefulness,  and  the  artificers  in  number.  The 
money  was  stamped  with  the  image  of  an  ox, 
whence  came  the  expression  of  a  thing  being 
worth  ten  or  a  hundred  oxen. 

Having  conquered  and  annexed  the  country  ad- 
joining Megara,  Theseus  set  up  the  famed  pillar 
in  the  isthmus,  and  inscribed  it  with  two  verses 
to  distinguish  the  boundaries.  That  on  the  east 
side  ran  : 

"  This  is  not  Peloponnesus,  but  Ionia;" 
and  that  on  the  west  side  was : 

"  This  is  Peloponnesus,  not  Ionia." 

Theseus  instituted  games  in  imitation  of  Her- 
cules, desirous  that  as  the  Greeks,  in  pursuance  of 
that  hero's  appointment,  celebrated  the  Olympic 
games  in  honor  of  Jupiter,  so  they  should  cele- 
brate the  Isthmian  in  honor  of  Neptune.  He  next 
made  war  with  the  Amazons,  and  received  their 
queen  Antiope,  as  the  reward  of  his  valor. 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  19 

There  are  many  contradictions  in  the  various 
accounts  of  Theseus.  Herodotus  thinks  that 
among  all  the  famous  expeditions  of  those  times, 
the  only  one  in  which  this  hero  was  engaged  was 
in  assisting  the  Lapithse  against  the  Centaurs. 
Others  claim  that  he  attended  Jason  to  Colchos, 
and  Meleager  in  killing  the  boar,  from  which 
came  the  proverb — "Nothing  without  Theseus." 
It  is  admitted  that  he  performed  many  amazing 
exploits,  which  gave  rise  to  the  saying,  "This 
man  is  another  Hercules. " 

Theseus  aided  Adrastus  in  recovering  the  bodies 
of  those  that  fell  before  Thebes,  by  persuading 
the  Thebans  to  a  truce.  Philochorus  thinks  this 
was  the  first  truce  ever  known  for  burying  the 
dead,  though  Hercules  previous  to  this  gave  leave 
to  his  enemies  to  carry  off  their  slain. 

Incited  by  Menestheus,  the  Athenians  rose 
against  Theseus,  and  while  he  was  occupied  in 
suppressing  the  sedition,  the  Tyndaridse  declared 
war  against  him.  Though  Athens  was  thus  placed 
in  great  danger,  Menestheus  persuaded  the  people 
to  admit  the  Tyndaridae  and  to  treat  them  hos- 
pitably, since  they  were  warring  against  Theseus 
alone. 

Theseus  was  compelled  to  flee  the  country,  and 
he  applied  for  help  to  Lycomedes,  king  of  the 
Scyrians.  This  monarch,  either  jealous  of 
Theseus  or  anxious  to  oblige  Menestheus,  having 
led  the  hero  to  the  highest  cliffs  of  the  country, 
on  pretence  of  showing  him  his  lands,  threw  him 
headlong   from   the  rocks   and   killed    him.     An 


20  THE    YOUTH  S 

equally  probable  account  is  that  Theseus  slipped, 
while  taking  a  walk,  according  to  his  custom, 
after  supper.  His  death  was  disregarded,  and 
Menestheus  quietly  possessed  the  kingdom  of 
Athens,  while  the  sons  of  Theseus  attended  Ele- 
phenor  as  private  persons  to  the  Trojan  war. 

After  the  Median  war,  Phaedo  being  archon  of 
Athens,  the  Athenians,  consulting  the  oracle  of 
Delphi,  were  commanded  to  gather  together  the 
bones  of  Theseus,  and  laying  them  in  some  hon- 
orable place,  keep  them  as  sacred  in  the  city.  It 
was  hard  to  find  the  remains,  because  of  the  sav- 
age temper  of  the  people  who  inhabited  the  island. 
When,  however,  it  was  conquered  by  Cimon,  he 
chanced  to  see  an  eagle  pecking  with  his  beak, 
and  tearing  up  the  earth  with  his  talons.  As  if 
by  inspiration,  he  knew  this  was  the  burial-place 
of  Theseus.  Digging  there,  he  found  the  coffin  of 
a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  size,  with  a  brazen 
spear-head  and  a  sword  lying  by  it.  All  these 
were  taken  on  board  Cimon's  galley  and  brought 
to  Athens,  where  they  were  interred  with  great 
honor. 

ROMULUS. 

Note. — Romulus  (Roman).  Romulus  is  considered  to 
be  the  mythical  founder  of  "imperial  Rome," 
whose  foundation  was  laid  B.C.  753. 

Romulus  was  the  traditional  founder  of  Rome  ; 
but  from  whom  and  for  what  cause  the  city 
obtained  that  name,  historians  are  not  agreed. 
The  story  goes  that  Romulus  and  his  twin-brother 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  21 

Remus  were  in  their  infancy  thrown  into  the  river 
Tiber,  but  were  miraculously  floated  ashore  and 
suckled  by  a  she-wolf  till  they  were  found  by  a 
shepherd  named  Faustulus,  who  brought  them  up. 
The  beauty  and  dignity  of  their  persons,  even  in 
their  childhood,  promised  a  generous  disposition, 
and  as  they  grew  up  they  both  showed  great  cour- 
age and  bravery.  Grown  to  the  state  of  manhood, 
they  determined  to  build  themselves  a  city  ;  but 
while  they  were  intent  upon  building,  a  dispute 
soon  arose  about  the  place.  Romulus  having 
built  a  square,  which  he  called  Rome,  would  have 
the  city  there ;  but  Remus  marked  out  a  more 
secure  situation  on  Mount  Aventine,  which,  from 
him,  was  called  Remonium.  The  dispute  was 
referred  to  the  decision  of  augury,  the  result  being 
that  Remus  was  highly  incensed,  and  as  Romulus 
was  opening  a  ditch  round  the  place  where  the 
walls  were  to  be  built,  he  ridiculed  some  parts  of 
the  work  and  obstructed  others.  At  last,  as  he 
presumed  to  leap  over  it,  some  say  he  fell  by  the 
hands  of  Romulus,  others  by  that  of  Celer,  one  of 
his  companions.  The  day  on  which  they  began 
to  build  the  city  is  allowed  to  be  the  21st  of  April, 

B.C.  750. 

When  the  city  was  built  Romulus  divided  the 
younger  part  of  the  inhabitants  into  battalions. 
Each  corps  consisted  of  three  thousand  foot  and 
three  hundred  horse,  and  was  called  a  Legion ; 
the  rest  of  the  multitude  he  called  The  People. 
A  hundred  of  the  most  considerable  citizens  he 
took  for  his  council,  with  the  title  of  Patricians, 


22  THE    YOUTH'S 

and  the  whole  body  was  called  the  Senate.  To 
obtain  wives  for  his  citizens  he  planned  a  capture 
of  Sabine  women  as  follows : — He  appointed  by 
proclamation  a  day  for  a  splendid  sacrifice,  with 
public  games  and  shows.  Multitudes  assembled, 
and  Romulus  himself  presided.  At  a  pre-arranged 
signal  the  Romans  rushed  in  with  their  swords 
drawn,  and  seized  the  daughters  of  the  Sabines, 
but  quietly  suffered  the  men  to  escape.  The 
Sabines  demanded  their  women  back,  but  were 
refused,  whereupon  Acron  declared  war  with 
Romulus  ;  but  in  single  combat  with  Romulus  he 
was  killed,  his  army  routed,  and  his  city  taken. 
On  this  occasion  Romulus  made  a  vow  that  if  he 
conquered  his  enemy  he  would  himself  dedicate 
his  adversary's  arms  to  Jupiter. 

Romulus  having  considered  how  he  should  per- 
form his  vow  in  the  most  acceptable  manner  to 
Jupiter,  and  withal  make  the  procession  most 
agreeable  to  his  people,  cut  down  a  great  oak 
that  grew  in  the  camp,  and  hewed  it  into  the  figure 
of  a  trophy;  to  this  he  fastened  Acron 's  whole 
suit  of  armor,  disposed  in  its  proper  form.  Then 
he  put  on  his  own  robes,  and  wearing  a  laurel 
crown  on  his  head,  his  hair  gracefully  flowing,  he 
took  the  trophy  erect  upon  his  right  shoulder,  and 
so  marched  on,  singing  the  song  of  victory  before 
his  troops,  who  followed  completely  armed,  while 
the  citizens  received  him  with  joy  and  admiration. 
This  procession  was  the  origin  and  model  of  future 
triumphs. 

In  a  subsequent  battle  with  the  Sabines,  while 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  23 

the  conflict  was  at  its  height  the  ardor  of  the  com- 
batants was  repressed  by  an  astonishing  spectacle. 
The  daughters  of  the  Sabines,  that  had  been  forci- 
bly carried  off,  rushed  with  loud  cries  and  lamen- 
tations, like  persons  distracted,  amidst  the  drawn 
swords,  and  over  the  dead  bodies,  to  come  at  their 
husbands  and  fathers,  some  carrying  their  infants 
in  their  arms,  some  darting  forward  with  dishev- 
elled hair,  but  all  calling  by  turns  both  upon  the 
Sabines  and  Romans  by  the  tenderest  names. 
Both  parties  were  extremely  moved,  and  room 
was  made  for  them  between  the  two  armies. 
Their  lamentations  pierced  to  the  utmost  ranks, 
and  all  were  deeply  affected,  particularly  when 
their  upbraiding  and  complaints  ended  in  suppli- 
cation and  entreaty. 

After  much  negotiation  peace  was  concluded, 
and  the  Sabines  were  incorporated  with  the 
Romans.  Many  honorable  privileges,  however, 
were  conferred  upon  the  women,  some  of  which 
were  these  :  That  the  men  should  give  them  the 
way  wherever  they  met  them  ;  that  they  should 
not  mention  an  obscene  word,  nor  act  indecently 
before  them  ;  that  in  case  of  their  killing  any  per- 
son, they  should  not  be  tried  before  the  ordinary 
judges ;  and  that  their  children  should  wear  an 
ornament  about  their  necks,  called  Bulla,  from 
its  likeness  to  a  bubble,  and  a  garment  bordered 
with  purple. 

After  the  wars  Romulus  behaved  as  almost  all 
men  do  who  rise  by  some  great  and  unexpected 
good  fortune  to  dignity  and  power ;   for,  exalted 


24  THE    YOUTHS 

with  his  exploits,  and  loftier  in  his  sentiments, 
he  dropped  his  popular  affability,  and  assumed 
the  monarch  to  an  odious  degree.  He  gave  the 
first  offence  by  his  dress  ;  his  habit  being  a  purple 
vest,  over  which  he  wore  a  robe  bordered  with 
purple.  He  gave  audience  in  a  chair  of  state. 
He  had  always  about  him  a  number  of  young  men 
called  Celeres,  from  their  dispatch  in  doing  busi- 
ness ;  and  before  him  went  men  with  staves,  called 
lictors,  to  keep  off  the  populace,  who  also  wore 
thongs  of  leather  at  their  girdles,  ready  to  bind 
directly  any  person  he  should  order  to  be  bound. 

Romulus  disappeared  in  an  unaccountable  man- 
ner at  the  age  of  fifty-four,  in  the  thirty-eighth 
year  of  his  reign. 


LYCURGUS. 

Note. — Lycurgus  (Spartan).  This  celebrated  Spar- 
tan legislator,  whose  existence  is  doubted  by  some 
modern  critics,  is  said  to  have  lived  in  the  ninth 
century  b.c 

Of  Lycurgus,  the  lawgiver,  we  have  nothing 
to  relate  that  is  certain  and  uncontroverted.  For 
there  are  different  accounts  of  his  birth,  his  trav- 
els, his  death,  and  especially  of  the  laws  and 
form  of  government  which  he  established.  But 
least  of  all  are  the  times  agreed  upon  in  which 
this  great  man  lived.  After  reigning  over  the 
Spartans  eight  months  he  set  sail  for  Crete,  and 
while  there  he  was  struck  with  admiration  of  some 
of  the  Cretan  laws,  and  he  resolved  at  his  return 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  25 

to  make  use  of  them  in  Sparta.  From  Crete  Ly- 
curgus  passed  to  Asia,  desirous,  as  is  said,  to 
compare  the  Ionian  expense  and  luxury  with  the 
Cretan  frugality  and  hard  diet,  so  as  to  judge 
what  effect  each  had  on  their  several  manners 
and  governments.  There  also,  probably,  he  met 
with  Homer's  poems,  which  were  preserved  by 
the  posterity  of  Cleophylus.  Observing  that  many 
moral  sentences  and  much  political  knowledge 
were  intermixed  with  his  stories,  which  had  an 
irresistible  charm,  he  collected  them  into  one 
body,  and  transcribed  them  with  pleasure,  in 
order  to  take  them  home  with  him.  For  his  glori- 
ous poetry  was  not  yet  fully  known  in  Greece ; 
only  some  particular  pieces  were  in  a  few  hands, 
as  they  happen  to  be  dispersed.  Lycurgus  was 
the  first  that  made  them  generally  known. 

Among  the  many  new  institutions  of  Lycurgus 
the  first  and  most  important  was  that  of  a  senate  ; 
which  sharing,  as  Plato  says,  in  the  power  of  the 
kings,  too  imperious  and  unrestrained  before,  and 
having  equal  authority  with  them,  was  the  means 
of  keeping  them  within  the  bounds  of  moderation, 
and  highly  contributed  to  the  preservation  of  the 
State  ;  for  before  it  had  been  veering  and  unsettled, 
sometimes  inclining  to  arbitrary  power,  and  some- 
times toward  a  pure  democracy ;  but  this  estab- 
lishment of  a  senate,  an  intermediate  body,  like 
ballast,  kept  it  in  a  just  equilibrium,  and  put  it  in 
a  safe  posture. 

A  second  and  bolder  political  enterprise  of  Ly- 
curgus was  a  division  of  the  land.     He  made  nine 


26  THE    YOUTH'S 

thousand  lots  for  the  territory  of  Sparta,  which 
he  distributed  among  so  many  citizens,  and  thirty 
thousand  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  rest  of  Laconia. 
Each  lot  was  capable  of  producing,  one  year  with 
another,  seventy  bushels  of  grain  for  each  man, 
and  twelve  for  each  woman,  besides  a  quantity  of 
wine  and  oil  in  proportion.  Such  a  provision  they 
thought  sufficient  for  health  and  a  good  habit  of 
body,  and  they  wanted  nothing  more. 

After  this  he  attempted  to  divide  also  the  mov- 
ables, in  order  to  take  away  all  appearance  of  in- 
equality ;  but  he  soon  perceived  that  they  could 
not  bear  to  have  their  goods  directly  taken  from 
them,  and  therefore  took  another  method,  counter- 
working their  avarice  by  a  stratagem.  First,  he 
stopped  the  currency  of  the  gold  and  silver  coin, 
and  ordered  that  they  should  make  use  of  iron 
money  only  ;  then  to  a  great  quantity  and  weight 
of  this  he  assigned  but  a  very  small  value  ;  so  that 
to  lay  up  ten  minse  a  whole  room  was  required, 
and  to  remove  it  nothing  less  than  a  yoke  of  oxen. 
When  this  became  current  many  kinds  of  injustice 
ceased  in  Lacedsemon.  Who  would  steal  or  take 
a  bribe,  who  would  defraud  or  rob,  when  he  could 
not  conceal  the  booty,  when  he  could  neither  be 
dignified  by  the  possession  of  it,  nor,  if  cut  in 
pieces,  be  served  by  its  use? 

Desirous  to  complete  the  conquest  of  luxury  and 
to  exterminate  the  love  of  riches,  he  introduced  a 
third  institution,  which  was  wisely  enough  and 
ingeniously  contrived.  This  was  the  use  of  public 
tables,  where  all  were  to  eat  in  common  of  the 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  27 

same  meat,  and  such  kinds  of  it  as  were  appointed 
by  law. 

The  rich  were  more  offended  with  this  regula- 
tion than  with  any  other,  and  rising  in  a  body  they 
loudly  expressed  their  indignation  ;  nay,  they  pro- 
ceeded so  far  as  to  assault  Lycurgus  with  stones, 
and  in  the  disturbance  he  had  one  of  his  eyes 
knocked  out.  Children  also  were  introduced  at 
these  public  tables,  as  so  many  schools  of  sobriety. 
There  they  heard  discourses  concerning  govern- 
ment, and  were  instructed  in  the  most  liberal 
breeding.  There  they  were  allowed  to  jest  with- 
out scurrility,  and  were  not  to  take  it  ill  when  the 
raillery  was  returned.  For  it  was  reckoned  worthy 
of  a  Lacedaemonian  to  bear  a  jest ;  but  if  any  one's 
patience  failed,  he  had  only  to  desire  them  to  be 
quiet,  and  they  left  off  immediately.  When  they 
first  entered,  the  oldest  man  present  pointed  to 
the  door,  and  said—"  Not  a  word  spoken  in  this 
company  goes  out  there." 

A  third  ordinance  of  Lycurgus  was,  that  they 
should  not  often  make  war  against  the  same 
enemy,  lest,  by  being  frequently  put  upon  de- 
fending themselves,  they  too  should  become  able 
warriors  in  their  turn. 

As  for  the  education  of  youth,  which  he 
looked  upon  as  the  greatest  and  most  glorious 
work  of  a  lawgiver,  he  began  with  it  at  the  very 
source.  He  ordered  the  virgins  to  exercise  them- 
selves in  running,  wrestling,  and  throwing  quoits 
and  darts ;  that  their  bodies  being  strong  and 
vigorous,  their  children  might  be  the  same. 


28  THE    YOUTH'S 

It  was  not  left  to  the  father  to  rear  what  chil- 
dren he  pleased,  but  he  was  obliged  to  carry  the 
child  to  a  place  called  Lesche,  to  be  examined  by 
the  most  ancient  men  of  the  tribe,  who  were  as- 
sembled there.  If  it  was  strong  and  well  pro- 
portioned, they  gave  orders  for  its  education,  and 
assigned  it  one  of  the  nine  thousand  shares  of 
land;  but  if  it  was  weakly  and  deformed,  they 
ordered  it  to  be  thrown  into  the  place  called 
Apothetae,  which  is  a  deep  cavern  near  the  moun- 
tain Taygetus,  concluding  that  its  life  could  be 
no  advantage  either  to  itself  or  to  the  public,  since 
Nature  had  not  given  it  at  first  any  strength  or 
goodness  of  constitution.  For  the  same  reason, 
the  women  did  not  wash  their  new-born  infants 
with  water,  but  with  wine,  thus  making  some 
trial  of  their  habit  of  body  ;  imagining  that  sickly 
and  epileptic  children  sink  and  die  under  the  ex- 
periment, while  the  healthy  become  more  vigorous 
and  hardy. 

As  for  learning,  they  had  just  what  was  abso- 
lutely necessary.  They  wrote  to  be  read,  and 
spoke  to  be  understood.  They  were  very  spare 
in  their  diet,  so  that  they  might  grow  tall.  For 
when  the  animal  spirits  are  not  too  much  op- 
pressed by  a  great  quantity  of  food,  which 
stretches  itself  out  in  breadth  and  thickness,  they 
mount  upwards  by  their  natural  lightness,  and 
the  body  easily  and  freely  shoots  up  in  height. 
This  also  contributes  to  make  them  handsome ; 
for  thin  and  slender  habits  yield  more  freely  to 
Nature,  which  then  gives  a  fine  proportion  to  the 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  29 

limbs ;  whilst  the  heavy  and  gross  resist  her  by 
their  weight. 

Lycurgus  was  short  and  sententious  in  his  dis- 
course, if  we  may  judge  by  some  of  his  answers 
which  are  recorded  ;  that,  for  instance,  concern- 
ing the  constitution.  When  one  advised  him  to 
establish  a  popular  government  in  Lacedsemon, 
— "Go,"  said  he,  "and  first  make  a  trial  of  it  in 
thy  own  family."  That  again,  concerning  sacri- 
fices to  the  deity,  when  he  was  asked  why  he  ap- 
pointed them  so  trifling,  and  of  so  little  value? — 
"That  we  may  never  be  in  want,"  said  he,  "of 
something  to  offer  him."  The  Spartans  hated 
long  speeches.  Even  when  they  indulged  a  vein 
of  pleasantry,  one  might  perceive  that  they 
would  not  use  one  unnecessary  word,  nor  let  an 
expression  escape  them  that  had  not  some  sense 
worth  attending  to.  For  one  being  asked  to  go 
and  hear  a  person  who  imitated  the  nightingale  to 
perfection,  answered— "I  have  heard  the  nightin- 
gale herself."  Nor  were  poetry  and  music  less 
cultivated  among  them  than  a  concise  dignity  of 
expression.  Their  songs  had  a  spirit  which  could 
rouse  the  soul,  and  impel  it  in  an  enthusiastic 
manner  to  action.  The  language  was  plain  and 
manly,  the  subject  serious  and  moral.  At  the 
public  games  they  relaxed  the  severity  of  their 
discipline,  the  men  dressing  their  hair  in  curious 
fashions.  They  let  their  hair  grow  from  their 
youth,  but  took  more  particular  care,  when  they 
expected  an  action,  to  have  it  well  combed  and 
shining,  remembering  a  saying  of  Lycurgus,  that 


30  THE    YOUTH  S 

"a  large  head  of  hair  made  the  handsome  more 
graceful  and  the  ugly  more  terrible. " 

Lawsuits  were  banished  from  Lacedsemon  with 
money.  The  Spartans  knew  neither  riches  nor 
poverty,  but  possessed  an  equal  competency,  and 
had  a  cheap  and  easy  way  of  supplying  their  few 
wants. 

Their  discourse  seldom  turned  upon  money  or 
business  or  trade,  but  upon  the  praise  of  the  ex- 
cellent or  the  contempt  of  the  worthless  ;  and  the 
last  was  expressed  with  that  pleasantry  and  hu- 
mor which  conveyed  instruction  and  correction 
without  seeming  to  intend  it.  Nor  was  Lycurgus 
himself  immoderately  severe  in  his  manner ;  for 
he  dedicated  a  little  statue  to  the  god  of  laughter 
in  each  hall.  He  considered  facetiousness  as  a 
seasoning  of  their  hard  exercise  and  diet,  and 
therefore  ordered  it  to  take  place  on  all  proper 
occasions,  in  their  common  entertainments  and 
parties  of  pleasure.  Upon  the  whole,  he  taught 
his  citizens  to  think  nothing  more  disagreeable 
than  to  live  by  (or  for  )  themselves.  Like  bees, 
they  acted  with  one  impulse  for  the  general  good, 
and  always  assembled  about  their  prince.  They 
were  possessed  with  a  thirst  of  honor,  an  enthusi- 
asm bordering  upon  insanity,  and  had  not  a  wish 
but  for  their  country. 

Lycurgus  likewise  made  good  regulations  with 
respect  to  burials.  In  the  first  place,  to  take 
away  all  superstition,  he  ordered  the  dead  to  be 
buried  in  the  city,  and  even  permitted  their  mon- 
uments to  be  erected  near  the  temples  ;  accustom- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  3 1 

ing  the  youth  to  such  sights  from  their  infancy, 
that  they  might  have  no  uneasiness  from  them, 
nor  any  horror  for  death,  as  if  people  were  pol- 
luted with  the  touch  of  a  dead  body,  or  with 
treading  upon  a  grave.  In  the  next  place,  he 
suffered  nothing  to  be  buried  with  the  corpse  ex- 
cept the  red  cloth  and  the  olive  leaves  in  which  it 
was  wrapped.  Nor  would  he  suffer  the  relations 
to  inscribe  any  names  upon  the  tombs,  except  of 
those  men  that  fell  in  battle,  or  those  women  who 
died  in  some  sacred  office.  He  fixed  eleven  days 
for  the  time  of  mourning ;  on  the  twelfth  they 
were  to  put  an  end  to  it,  after  offering  sacrifice  to 
Ceres.  No  part  of  life  was  left  vacant  and  unim- 
proved ;  but  even  with  their  necessary  actions  he 
interwove  the  praise  of  virtue  and  the  contempt 
of  vice ;  and  he  so  filled  the  city  with  living  ex- 
amples that  it  was  next  to  impossible  for  persons 
who  had  these  from  their  infancy  before  their  eyes 
not  to  be  drawn  and  formed  to  honor.  Lycurgus 
is  reported  to  have  starved  himself  to  death. 

NUMA. 

Note. — Numa  (Roman).  Numa  Pompilius  was  the 
second  mythical  king  of  Rome,  and,  according  to 
legend,  was  elected  after  the  death  of  Romulus. 
He  flourished  in  the  eighth  century  B.C.,  and 
reigned  some  forty  years.  About  B.C.  180,  a 
pretended  discovery  was  made  of  the  sacred  books 
of  Numa. 

Numa  was  born  at  Cures,  a  city  of  the  Sabines, 
from  which  the  Romans,  together  with  the  incor- 
porated Sabines,  took  the  name  of  Quirites.     He 


2,2  THE    YOUTHS 

was  the  son  of  a  person  of  distinction,  named 
Pomponius.  It  seemed  to  be  by  the  direction  of 
the  gods  that  he  was  born  on  the  21st  of  April, 
the  same  day  that  Rome  was  founded  by  Rom- 
ulus. His  mind  was  naturally  disposed  to  vir- 
tue ;  and  he  still  further  subdued  it  by  discipline, 
patience,  and  philosophy  ;  not  only  purging  it  of 
the  grosser  passions,  but  even  of  that  ambition 
and  rapaciousness  which  was  reckoned  honorable 
amongst  the  barbarians— persuaded  that  true  for- 
titude consists  in  the  conquest  of  appetites  by 
reason.  On  this  account  he  banished  all  luxury 
and  splendor  from  his  house ;  and  both  citizens 
and  strangers  found  him  a  faithful  counselor  and 
an  upright  judge.  As  for  his  hours  of  leisure,  he 
spent  them  not  in  the  pursuits  of  pleasure,  or 
schemes  of  profit,  but  in  the  worship  of  the  gods, 
and  in  rational  inquiries  into  their  nature  and 
their  power. 

At  the  age  of  forty  Numa,  on  the  death  of  Rom- 
ulus, was  elected  king ;  but  he  declined  the 
crown  until  he  was  persuaded  by  his  father  and 
Marcius  to  accept  it.  His  first  act  of  government 
was  to  discharge  the  body  of  three  hundred  men 
called  Celeres,  whom  Romulus  always  kept  about 
him  as  guards,  for  he  neither  chose  to  distrust 
those  who  put  confidence  in  him,  nor  to  reign 
over  a  people  that  could  distrust  him.  To  him 
is  attributed  the  institution  of  that  high  order  of 
priests  called  Pontifices,  over  which  he  is  said  to 
have  presided  himself.  The  Pontifex  Maximus, 
or  chief  priest,  had  care  not  only  of  public  sacri- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  $$ 

fices,  but  even  of  private  rites  and  offerings.  To 
Numa  also  is  ascribed  the  establishment  of  the 
Vestal  Virgins  and  the  whole  sacrifice  with  re- 
spect to  the  perpetual  fire  which  they  watch  con- 
tinually. If  this  light  happens  by  accident  to  be 
put  out,  as  the  sacred  lamp  is  said  to  have  been 
at  Athens  under  the  tyranny  of  Ariston,  at  Delphi 
when  the  temple  was  burned  by  the  Medes,  and 
at  Rome  in  the  Mithridatic  war,  as  also  in  the 
civil  war  (when  not  only  was  the  fire  extinguished 
but  the  altar  overturned) ,— the  lamp  is  not  lighted 
again  from  another  fire,  but  new  fire  is  gained  by 
drawing  a  pure  unpolluted  flame  from  the  sun- 
beams. They  generally  kindled  it  with  concave 
vessels  of  brass  formed  by  the  conic  section  of  a 
right-angled  triangle,  whose  lines  from  the  cir- 
cumference meet  in  one  central  point.  This 
being  placed  against  the  sun  causes  the  rays  to 
converge  in  the  center,  which,  by  reflection,  ac- 
quiring the  force  and  activity  of  fire,  rarefy  the 
air,  and  immediately  kindle  such  light  and  dry 
matter  as  they  think  fit  to  apply. 

Numa  taught  the  Pontifices  to  look  upon  the 
last  offices  to  the  dead  as  no  pollution.  He  like- 
wise fixed  the  time  of  mourning  according  to  the 
different  ages  of  the  deceased.  He  allowed  none 
for  a  child  that  died  under  three  years  of  age; 
and  for  one  older  the  mourning  was  only  to  last 
as  many  months  as  he  lived  years,  provided  those 
were  not  more  than  ten.  The  longest  mourning 
was  not  to  continue  above  ten  months,  after  which 
space  widows  were  permitted  to  marry  again. 
3 


34  THE    YOUTHS 

No  occupation  implants  so  speedy  and  so  ef- 
fectual a  love  of  peace  as  a  country  life ;  where 
there  remains  indeed  courage  and  bravery  suffi- 
cient to  defend  the  property,  the  temptations  to 
injustice  and  avarice  are  removed.  Numa,  there- 
fore, introduced  among  his  subjects  an  attachment 
to  husbandry  as  a  charm  of  peace,  and  contriving 
a  business  for  them  which  would  rather  form  their 
manners  to  simplicity  than  raise  them  to  opu- 
lence. He  divided  the  country  into  several  por- 
tions, which  he  called  pagi  or  boroughs,  and  ap- 
pointed over  each  of  them  a  governor  or  overseer. 
Sometimes  also  he  inspected  them  himself;  and, 
judging  of  the  disposition  of  the  people  by  the 
condition  of  their  farms,  some  he  advanced  to 
posts  of  honor  and  trust;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  reprimanded  and  endeavored  to  reform  the 
negligent  and  the  idle.  But  the  most  admired  of 
all  his  institutions  is  his  distribution  of  the  citi- 
zens into  companies. 

This  distribution  was  made  according  to  the 
several  arts  or  trades,  of  musicians,  goldsmiths, 
masons,  dyers,  shoemakers,  tanners,  braziers, 
and  potters.  He  collected  the  other  artificers 
also  into  companies,  who  had  their  respective 
halls,  courts,  and  religious  ceremonies,  peculiar 
to  each  society.  By  these  means  he  first  took 
away  the  distinction  of  Sabines  and  Romans,  sub- 
jects of  Tatius  and  subjects  of  Romulus,  both 
name  and  thing ;  the  very  separation  into  parts 
mixing  and  incorporating  the  whole  together. 

He  attempted  the  reformation  of  the  calendar 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  35 

too,  which  he  executed  with  some  degree  of  skill, 
though  not  with  absolute  exactness.  In  the  reign 
of  Romulus  it  had  neither  measure  nor  order, 
some  months  consisting  of  fewer  than  twenty 
days,  while  some  were  stretched  to  thirty-five, 
and  others  even  to  more.  They  had  no  idea  of 
the  difference  between  the  annual  course  of  the 
sun  and  that  of  the  moon,  and  only  laid  down  the 
proposition  that  the  year  consisted  of  360  days. 
Numa,  then,  observing  that  there  was  a  differ- 
ence of  eleven  days,  354  days  making  up  the  lu- 
nar year  and  365  the  solar,  doubled  those  eleven 
days,  and  inserted  them  as  an  intercalary  month 
after  that  of  February  every  other  year.  He 
likewise  altered  the  order  of  the  months,  making 
March  third,  which  was  first,  and  January  and 
February  first  and  second,  which  in  the  time  of 
Romulus  were  eleventh  and  twelfth.  Many,  how- 
ever, assert  that  the  two  months  of  January  and 
February  were  added  by  Numa,  whereas  before 
they  had  reckoned  but  ten  months  in  the  year. 
Of  this  we  have  a  proof  in  the  name  of  the  last, 
for  it  is  still  called  December  or  the  tenth  month  ; 
and  that  March  was  the  first  is  also  evident,  be- 
cause the  fifth  from  it  was  called  Quintilis,  the 
sixth  Sextilis,  and  so  the  rest  in  their  order.  If 
January  and  February  had  then  been  placed  be- 
fore March,  the  month  Quintilis  would  have  been 
the  fifth  in  name,  but  the  seventh  in  reckoning. 
Besides,  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  the 
month  of  March,  dedicated  by  Romulus  to  the 
god  Mars,  should  stand  first.     Numa  seems  to 


$6  THE    YOUTH'S 

have  taken  away  the  precedency  from  March, 
which  is  denominated  from  the  god  of  war,  with 
a  design  to  show  his  preference  of  the  political  to 
the  martial  virtues.  For  Janus,  in  the  most  re- 
mote antiquity,  being  remarkable  for  his  political 
abilities  and  his  cultivation  of  society,  reclaimed 
men  from  their  rude  and  savage  manners.  He  is 
therefore  represented  with  two  faces,  as  having 
altered  the  former  state  of  the  world,  and  given 
quite  a  new  turn  to  life.  He  had  also  a  temple  at 
Rome  with  two  gates,  which  it  was  customary  to 
open  in  the  time  of  war  and  to  shut  in  time  of 
peace.  The  latter  was  seldom  the  case  till  Numa's 
reign,  when,  however,  it  was  not  opened  for  one 
day,  but  stood  constantly  shut  during  the  space 
of  forty-three  years. 

Numa  wasted  away  insensibly  with  old  age 
and  a  gentle  decline,  and  was  some  few  years 
above  eighty  when  he  died. 

SOLON. 

Note. — Solon  (Greek).  Solon,  one  of  the  seven 
sages  of  Greece,  was  born  at  Salamis  in  the 
seventh  century  B.C.  He  was  chosen  archon, 
B.C.  594,  and  is  supposed  to  have  died  at  the  age 
of  80,  about  b.c.  558. 

Solon  was  a  celebrated  Grecian  lawyer.  His 
father,  Execestides,  having  hurt  his  fortune  by 
indulging  his  great  and  munificent  spirit  in  assist- 
ing others,  was  ashamed  himself  to  accept  assist- 
ance, and  Solon  had  to  apply  himself  to  merchan- 
dise.     Some,     however,     say    that    he    traveled 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  37 

rather  to  gratify  his  curiosity  and  extend  his 
knowledge  than  to  raise  an  estate.  For  he  pro- 
fessed his  love  of  wisdom,  and,  when  far  ad- 
vanced in  years,  made  this  declaration, — "I  grow 
in  learning  as  I  grow  in  years."  That  he  was 
not  too  much  attached  to  wealth  we  may  gather 
from  the  following  lines  :— 

"  The  man  that  boasts  of  golden  stores,  * 

Of  grain  that  loads  his  bending  floors, 
Of  fields  with  fresh'ning  herbage  green, 
Where  bounding  steeds  and  herds  are  seen, 
I  call  not  happier  than  the  swain, 
Whose  limbs  are  sound,  whose  food  is  plain, 
Whose  joys  a  blooming  wife  endears, 
Whose  hours  a  smiling  offspring  cheers." 

The  profession  of  merchandise  was  honorable, 
as  it  brought  home  the  produce  of  barbarous 
countries,  engaged  the  friendship  of  kings,  and 
opened  a  wide  field  of  knowledge  and  experience. 
Nay,  some  merchants  have  been  founders  of 
great  cities;  Protus,  for  instance,  who  built  Mar- 
seilles. Thales  also,  and  Hippocrates,  the  math- 
ematician, are  said  to  have  had  their  share  in 
commerce ;  and  the  oil  that  Plato  disposed  of  in 
Egypt  defrayed  the  expense  of  his  travels. 

It  was  a  saying  of  Solon  that  "absolute  mon- 
archy is  a  fair  field,  but  it  has  no  outlet. " 

The  first  of  his  public  acts  was  that  debts 
should  be  forgiven,  and  that  no  man  for  the  fu- 
ture should  take  the  body  of  his  debtor  for  secur- 
ity ;  and  some  friends  of  his  who  knew  of  his 
intention,  taking  advantage  of  the  secret  before 


38  THE    YOUTH'S 

the  decree  took  place,  borrowed  large  sums  of  the 
rich  and  purchased  estates  with  them.  After- 
wards, when  the  decree  was  published,  they  kept 
their  possessions,  without  paying  the  money  they 
had  taken  up ;  which  brought  great  reflections 
upon  Solon,  as  if  he  had  not  been  imposed  upon 
with  the  rest,  but  were  rather  an  accomplice  in 
the  fraud.  This  charge,. however,  was  soon  re- 
moved by  his  being  the  first  to  comply  with  the 
law,  and  remitting  a  debt  which  he  had  out  at 
interest.  But  his  friends  went  by  the  name  of 
Chreocopidse,  or  debt-cutters,  ever  after. 

He  repealed  the  laws  of  Draco,  except  those 
concerning  murder,  because  of  the  severity  of 
the  punishments  the)'- appointed,  which  for  almost 
all  offenses  were  capital.  Even  those  that  were 
convicted  of  idleness  were  to  suffer  death,  and 
such  as  stole  only  a  few  apples  or  pot-herbs  were 
to  be  punished  in  the  same  manner  as  sacrile- 
gious persons  and  murderers.  Hence  the  saying 
that  "  Draco  wrote  his  laws,  not  with  ink  but  with 
blood." 

He  established  the  council  of  the  Areopagus, 
which  was  to  consist  of  such  as  had  borne  the 
office  of  archon,  and  himself  was  one  of  the  num- 
ber. But  observing  that  the  people,  now  dis- 
charged from  their  debts,  grew  insolent  and  im- 
perious, he  proceeded  to  constitute  another  council 
or  senate  of  four  hundred,  a  hundred  out  of  each 
tribe,  by  whom  all  affairs  were  to  be  previously 
considered  ;  and  ordered  that,  without  their  ap- 
probation, no   matter  should   be  laid  before  the 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  39 

general  assembly.  In  the  mean  time,  the  high 
court  of  the  Areopagus  were  to  be  the  inspectors 
and  guardians  of  the  laws. 

Solon's  law  is  justly  commended  which  forbids 
men  to  speak  ill  of  the  dead.  His  law  concerning 
wills  has  likewise  its  merit,  for  he  gave  every 
man  the  full  and  free  disposal  of  his  own. 

He  regulated,  moreover,  the  journeys  of  women, 
their  mournings  and  sacrifices,  and  endeavored 
to  keep  them  clear  of  all  disorder  and  excess. 
They  were  not  to  go  out  of  town  with  more  than 
three  habits ;  the  provisions  they  carried  with 
them  were  not  to  exceed  the  value  of  an  obolus ; 
their  basket  was  not  to  be  above  a  cubit  high  ;  and 
in  the  night  they  were  not  to  travel  but  in  a  car- 
riage, with  a  torch  before  them.  At  funerals  they 
were  forbidden  to  tear  themselves,  and  no  hired 
mourner  was  to  utter  lamentable  notes,  or  to  act 
in  any  way  that  tended  to  excite  sorrow.  He 
made  a  law  that  no  son  should  be  obliged  to 
maintain  his  father  if  he  had  not  taught  him  a 
trade.  His  regulations  with  respect  to  the  plant- 
ing of  trees  were  also  very  judicious.  He  that 
planted  any  tree  in  his  field  was  to  place  it  at 
least  five  feet  from  his  neighbor's  ground  ;  and  if 
it  was  a  fig-tree  or  an  olive,  nine ;  for  these  ex- 
tend their  roots  further  than  others,  and  their 
neighborhood  is  prejudicial  to  some  trees,  not 
only  as  they  take  away  the  nourishment,  but  as 
their  effluvia  is  noxious.  He  that  would  dig  a  pit 
or  a  ditch  was  to  dig  it  as  far  from  another  man's 
ground  as  it  was  deep  ;  and  if  any  one  would  raise 


4©  THE    YOUTHS 

stocks  of  bees,  he  was  to  place  them  three  hun- 
dred feet  from  those  already  raised  by  another. 

These  are  some  of  the  most  noticeable  of  the 
laws  of  Solon.  He  made  the  Athenians  take  an 
oath  to  observe  his  laws  for  ioo  years,  but  after 
an  absence  of  ten  years  in  Egypt  he  found  his 
laws  disregarded,  and  he  retired  to  Cyprus, 
where  he  helped  to  build  a  city  called  Soli,  and 
died  at  the  age  of  80  years. 

PUBLICOLA. 

Note. — Publicola  (Roman).  Valerius  Publicola  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Roman  republic,  and 
nourished  in  the  sixth  century  b.c 

Publicola  was  so  called  by  the  Romans  in  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  merit.  He  was  a  son  of 
Valerius,  and  was  descended  from  that  ancient 
Valerius  who  was  the  principal  author  of  the 
union  between  the  Romans  and  the  Sabines. 
Our  Valerius  distinguished  himself  by  his  elo- 
quence and  riches  even  while  Rome  was  yet 
under  kingly  government.  His  eloquence  he  em- 
ployed with  great  propriety  and  spirit  in  defense 
of  justice,  and  his  riches  in  relieving  the  neces- 
sitous. Hence  it  was  natural  to  conclude  that  if 
the  government  should  become  republican,  his 
station  in  it  would  soon  be  one  of  the  most  emi- 
nent. 

The  famous  eulogiura  which  he  pronounced 
over  the  body  of  Brutus*  gave  rise  to  the  custom 

*  Lucius  Junius  Brutus  {not  Marcus  Brutus). 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  41 

of  funeral  orations.  The  Romans  were  so  much 
charmed  with  the  speech  that  afterward  all  the 
great  and  illustrious  men  amongst  them,  upon 
their  decease,  had  their  encomium  from  persons 
of  distinction.  This  funeral  oration  was  more 
ancient  than  any  amongst  the  Greeks,  unless  we 
allow  that  Anaximenes,  the  orator,  relates  that 
Solon  was  the  author  of  this  custom. 

Desirous  to  make  his  high  office,  as  well  as 
himself,  rather  agreeable  than  formidable  to  the 
people,  he  ordered  the  axes  to  be  taken  away 
from  the  rods,  and  that,  whenever  he  went  to  the 
great  assembly,  the  rods  should  be  lowered  in  re- 
spect to  the  citizens,  as  if  the  supreme  power  were 
lodged  in  them  ;  a  custom  which  the  consuls  ob- 
serve to  this  day.  The  people  were  not  aware 
that  by  this  he  did  not  lessen  his  own  power  (as 
they  imagined),  but  only  by  such  an  instance  of 
moderation  obviated  and  cut  off  all  occasion  of 
env}',  and  gained  as  much  authority  to  his  person 
as  he  seemed  to  take  from  his  office  ;  for  they  all 
submitted  to  him  with  pleasure,  and  were  so  much 
charmed  with  his  behavior  that  they  gave  him 
the  name  of  Publicola,  that  is,  the  people's  re- 
spectful friend.  He  not  only  acquired  but  em- 
ployed his  riches  honorably,  for  he  was  a  gener- 
ous benefactor  to  the  poor ;  so  that  if  Solon  was 
the  wisest,  Publicola  was  the  happiest  of  human- 
kind. 


42  THE    YOUTHS 


THEMISTOCLES. 

Note.— Themistocles  (Greek).  This  statesman  and 
general  was  born  in  the  latter  half  of  the  sixth 
century  B.C.  His  death  (attributed  by  Plutarch 
to  suicide  by  poison,  though  the  account  is 
doubted),  occurred  at  Magnesia,  Asia  Minor, 
B.C.  470  or  472. 

Themistocles  was  an  Athenian  general .  He  had 
an  early  and  violent  inclination  for  public  busi- 
ness, and  was  so  strongly  smitten  with  the  love 
of  glory,  with  an  ambition  of  the  highest  station, 
that  he  involved  himself  in  troublesome  quarrels 
with  persons  of  the  first  rank  and  influence  in  the 
State,  particularly  with  Aristides,  the  son  of  Ly- 
simachus,  who  always  opposed  him. 

When  Themistocles  went  to  the  Olympic  games 
he  endeavored  to  equal  or  exceed  Cimon  in  the 
elegance  of  his  table,  the  splendor  of  his  pavil- 
ions, and  other  expenses  of  his  train.  These 
things,  however,  were  not  agreeable  to  the 
Greeks ;  they  looked  upon  them  as  suitable  to  a 
young  man  of  a  noble  family ;  but  when  an  ob- 
scure person  set  himself  up  so  much  above  his 
fortune,  he  gained  nothing  by  it  but  the  imputa- 
tion of  vanity. 

At  length,  having  attained  to  a  great  height  of 
power  and  popularity,  his  faction  prevailed,  and 
he  procured  the  banishment  of  Aristides  by  what 
is  called  the  Ostracism. 

Though  the  several  engagements  with  the  Per- 
sian fleet  in  the  straits  of  Eubcea  were  not  decis- 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  43 

ive,  yet  they  were  of  great  advantage  to  the 
Greeks,  who  learned,  by  experience,  that  neither 
the  number  of  ships,  nor  the  beauty  and  splendor 
of  their  ornaments,  nor  the  vaunting  shouts  and 
songs  of  the  barbarians,  have  anything  dreadful 
in  them  to  men  that  know  how  to  fight  hand  to 
hand,  and  are  determined  to  behave  gallantly. 
These  things  they  were  taught  to  despise,  when 
they  came  to  close  action,  and  grappled  with  the 
foe.  In  this  case  Pindar's  sentiments  appear 
just,  when  he  says  of  the  fight  at  Artemisium,— 

"  'Twas  then  that  Athens  the  foundation  laid 
Of  Liberty's  fair  structure.  " 

Indeed,  intrepid  courage  is  the  commencement  of 
victory. 

At  the  battle  of  Salamis,  against  Xerxes,  King 
of  Persia,  Themistocles  had  charge  of  the  fleet. 
He  was  happy  in  choosing  a  place  for  action,  and 
no  less  so  in  taking  advantage  of  a  proper  time 
for  it.  He  would  not  engage  the  enemy  till  that 
time  of  day  when  a  brisk  wind  usually  rises  from 
the  sea,  which  occasions  a  high  surf  in  the  chan- 
nel. This  was  no  inconvenience  to  the  Grecian 
vessels,  which  were  low  built  and  well  compacted  ; 
but  a  very  great  one  to  the  Persian  ships,  which 
had  high  sterns  and  lofty  decks,  and  were  heavy 
and  unwieldy  ;  for  it  caused  them  to  veer  in  such 
a  manner  that  their  sides  were  exposed  to  the 
Greeks,  who  attacked  them  furiously.  During 
the  whole  engagement  great  attention  was  given 
to  the  motions  of  Themistocles.     Ariamenes,  the 


44  THE    YOUTHS 

Persian  admiral,  a  man  of  distinguished  honor, 
and  by  far  the  bravest  of  the  king's  brothers,  di- 
rected his  maneuvers  chiefly  against  him.  His 
ship  was  very  tall,  and  from  thence  he  threw 
darts,  and  shot  forth  arrows  as  from  the  walls  of 
a  castle.  But  Aminias  the  Decelean,  and  Sosi- 
cles  the  Pedian,  who  were  both  in  one  ship,  bore 
down  upon  him  with  their  prow,  and  both  ships 
meeting  they  were  fastened  together  by  means  of 
their  brazen  beaks ;  when  Ariamenes  boarding 
their  galley,  they  received  him  with  their  pikes, 
and  pushed  him  into  the  sea.  The  first  man  that 
took  a  ship  was  an  Athenian  named  Lycomedes, 
captain  of  a  galley,  who  cut  down  the  ensigns 
from  the  enemy's  ship,  and  consecrated  them  to 
the  laureled  Apollo.  As  the  Persians  could  come 
up  in  the  straits  but  few  at  a  time,  and  often  put 
each  other  in  confusion,  the  Greeks  equaling 
them  in  the  line,  fought  them  till  the  evening, 
when  they  broke  them  entirely,  and  gained  that 
signal  and  complete  victory,  than  which  no  other 
naval  achievement,  either  of  the  Greeks  or  bar- 
barians, ever  was  more  glorious. 

Having  returned  from  the  wars,  his  next  enter- 
prise was  to  rebuild  and  fortify  Athens.  After 
this  he  built  and  fortified  the  Piraeus  (having  ob- 
served the  great  convenience  of  that  harbor)  by 
which  means  he  gave  the  city  every  maritime  ac- 
commodation. In  this  respect  bis  politics  were 
very  different  from  those  of  the  ancient  kings  of 
Athens,  who  endeavored  to  draw  the  attention  of 
their  subjects  from  the  business  of  navigation,  so 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  45 

that  they  might  turn  it  entirely  to  the  culture  of 
the  ground. 

Having  given  offense  to  the  people,  he  was  ban- 
ished by  the  Ostracism  ;  but  this  was  nothing 
more  than  they  had  done  to  others  whose  power 
was  become  a  burden  to  them,  and  who  had  risen 
above  the  quality  which  a  commonwealth  requires  ; 
for  the  Ostracism,  or  ten  years'  banishment,  was 
not  so  much  intended  to  punish  this  or  that  great 
man,  as  to  pacify  and  mitigate  the  fury  of  envy, 
that  delights  in  the  disgrace  of  superior  charac- 
ters, and  loses  a  part  of  its  rancor  by  their  fall. 

On  the  revolt  of  Egypt  he  was  asked  to  take  the 
direction  of  an  expedition,  but  he  declined,  and 
soon  afterwards  destroyed  himself,  it  is  said,  by 
drinking  bull's  blood.  He  was  sixty-six  years  old 
when  he  died.  Plato,  the  comedian  (not  the  phil- 
osopher) ,  says  of  him, 

"Oft  as  the  merchant  speeds  the  passing  sail, 
Thy  tomb,  Themistocles,  he  stops  to  hail; 
When  hostile  ships  in  martial  combat  meet, 
Thy  shade,  attending,  hovers  o'er  the  fleet." 

CAMILLUS. 

Note.— Camillus  (Roman).  Camillus  Marcus  Furius, 
lived  in  the  fourth  century  B.C.  Much  that  is 
related  of  him  is  fabulous.  His  son  raised  a 
rebellion  in  Dalmatia,  during  the  reign  of  Claudius, 
but  was  abandoned  by  his  soldiers  and  committed 
suicide. 

Among  the  many  remarkable  things  related  of 
Furius  Camillus,  the  most  extraordinary  seems 
to  be  this,  that  though  he  was  often  in  the  high- 


46  the  youth's 

est  commands,  and  performed  the  greatest  ac- 
tions, though  he  was  six  times  chosen  dictator, 
though  he  triumphed  four  times,  and  was  styled 
the  second  founder  of  Rome,  yet  he  was  never 
once  consul.  This  was,  however,  because  in  his 
time  military  tribunes  were  appointed  instead  of 
consuls.  There  is  upon  record  a  very  laudable 
act  of  his,  that  took  place  during  his  office.  As 
the  wars  had  made  many  widows,  he  obliged  such 
of  the  men  as  lived'  single,  partly  by  persuasion, 
and  partly  by  threatening  them  with  fines,  to 
marry  those  widows.  One  of  his  most  important 
exploits  was  the  siege  of  Veii.  Perceiving  that  it 
would  be  both  difficult  and  dangerous  to  endeavor 
to  take  the  city  by  assault,  he  ordered  mines  to  be 
dug,  the  soil  about  it  being  easy  to  work,  and  ad- 
mitting of  depth  enough  for  the  works  to  be  car- 
ried on  unseen  by  the  enemy.  As  this  succeeded 
to  his  wish,  he  made  an  assault  without  to  call 
the  enemy  to  the  walls  ;  and  in  the  mean  time 
others  of  his  soldiers  made  their  way  through  the 
mines  and  secretly  penetrated  to  Juno's  temple  in 
the  citadel. 

The  city  thus  taken  by  the  Romans  sword  in 
hand,  while  they  were  busy  in  plundering  it  and 
carrying  off  its  immense  riches,  Camillus  behold- 
ing from  the  citadel  what  was  done,  at  first  burst 
into  tears  ;  and  when  those  about  him  began  to 
magnify  his  happiness  at  his  success,  he  lifted  up 
his  hands  toward  heaven  and  uttered  this  prayer  : 
— "Great  Jupiter,  and  ye  gods,  that  have  the  in- 
spection  of  our  good  and  evil  actions,  ye  know 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  47 

that  the  Romans,  not  without  just  cause,  but  in 
their  own  defense,  and  constrained  by  necessity, 
have  made  war  against  this  city,  and  its  unjust 
inhabitants.  If  we  must  have  some  misfortune 
in  lieu  of  this  success,  I  entreat  that  it  may  fall  not 
upon  Rome,  or  the  Roman  army,  but  upon  my- 
self ;  yet  lay  not,  ye  gods,  a  heavy  hand  upon  me  !" 
Whether  it  was  that  Camillus  was  elated  with 
his  great  exploit  in  taking  a  city  that  was  the 
rival  of  Rome,  after  it  had  been  besieged  ten 
years,  or  that  he  was  misled  by  his  flatterers,  he 
took  upon  him  too  much  state  for  a  magistrate 
subject  to  the  laws  and  usages  of  his  country. 
For  his  triumph  was  conducted. with  excessive 
pomp,  and  he  rode  through  Rome  in  a  chariot 
drawn  by  four  white  horses,  which  no  general 
ever  did  before  or  after  him.  Indeed,  this  sort  of 
carriage  is  esteemed  sacred,  and  is  appropriated 
to  the  king  and  father  of  the  gods.  The  citizens, 
therefore,  considered  this  unusual  appearance  of 
grandeur  as  an  insult  to  them.  But  the  great- 
est and  most  manifest  cause  of  their  hatred  was 
his  behavior  with  respect  to  the  tenths  of  the 
spoils.  It  seems  he  had  made  a  vow,  as  he 
marched  to  Veii,  that  if  he  took  the  city  he  would 
consecrate  the  tenths  to  Apollo.  But  when  the 
city  was  taken,  and  came  to  be  pillaged,  he  was' 
either  unwilling  to  interrupt  his  men,  or  in  the 
hurry  had  forgotten  his  vow.  A  charge  of  fraud 
with  respect  to  these  spoils  was  brought  against 
him,  and  the  people  were  much  exasperated.  At 
length  he  quitted  the  city,  a  voluntary  exile. 


48  THE    YOUTH'S 

While  he  was  absent  the  Gauls,  under  Bren- 
nus,  besieged  Rome  and  defeated  the  Romans 
near  the  river  Allia,  and  they  were  compelled  to 
retire  into  the  capitol  or  citadel. 

The  third  day  after  the  battle  Brennus  arrived 
at  the  city  with  his  army ;  and  finding  the  gates 
opened  and  the  walls  destitute  of  guards,  at  first 
he  had  some  apprehension  of  a  stratagem  or  am- 
buscade, for  he  could  not  think  the  Romans  had 
so  entirely  given  themselves  up  to  despair.  But 
when  he  found  it  to  be  so  in  reality,  he  entered 
by  the  Colline  gate,  and  took  Rome,  a  little  more 
than  three  hundred  and  sixty  years  after  its  foun- 
dation. 

Camillus  was  re-elected  dictator,  and  marched 
at  the  head  of  an  army  to  the  relief  of  the  capitol. 
Meantime,  some  of  the  barbarians  employed  in 
the  siege,  happening  to  pass  by  the  place  where 
Pontius  had  made  his  way  by  night  up  to  the 
capitol,  observed  many  traces  of  his  feet  and 
hands,  as  he  had  worked  himself  up  to  the  rock. 
Of  this  they  informed  the  king,  who  coming  and 
viewing  it,  for  the  present  said  nothing ;  but  in 
the  evening  he  assembled  the  lightest  and  most 
active  of  his  men,  who  were  the  likeliest  to  climb 
any  difficult  height,  and  thus  addressed  them  : — 
"The  enemy  have  themselves  shown  us  a  way  to 
reach  them,  which  we  were  ignorant  of,  and  have 
proved  that  this  rock  is  neither  inaccessible  nor 
untrod  by  human  feet.  What  a  shame  would  it 
be  then,  after  having  made  a  beginning,  not  to 
finish  ;  and  to  quit  the  place  as  impregnable,  when 


plutarch's  lives.  49 

the  Romans  themselves  have  taught  us  how  to 
take  it  ?  Where  it  was  easy  for  one  man  to  ascend, 
it  cannot  be  difficult  for  many,  one  by  one ;  nay, 
should  many  attempt  it  together,  they  will  find 
great  advantage  in  assisting  each  other.  In  the 
mean  time,  I  intend  great  rewards  and  honors  for 
such  as  shall  distinguish  themselves  on  this  oc- 
casion." 

The  Gauls  readily  embraced  the  king's  pro- 
posal ;  and  about  midnight  a  number  of  them 
began  to  climb  the  rock  in  silence,  which,  though 
steep  and  craggy,  proved  more  practicable  than 
they  expected.  The  foremost  having  gained  the 
top,  put  themselves  in  order,  and  were  ready  to 
take  possession  of  the  wall,  and  to  fall  upon  the 
guards,  who  were  fast  asleep ;  for  neither  man 
nor  dog  perceived  their  coming.  However,  there 
were  certain  sacred  geese  kept  near  Juno's  tem- 
ple, and  at  other  times  plentifully  fed ;  but  at 
this  time,  as  corn  and  the  other  provisions  that 
remained  were  scarce  sufficient  for  the  men,  they 
were  neglected  and  in  poor  condition.  Geese  are 
naturally  quick  of  hearing,  and  soon  alarmed  at 
any  noise  ;  and  as  hunger  kept  them  waking  and 
uneasy,  they  immediately  perceived  the  coming 
of  the  Gauls,  and  running  at  them  with  all  the 
noise  they  could  make,  they  awoke  all  the 
guards.  The  barbarians  now  perceiving  they 
were  discovered,  advanced  with  loud  shouts  and 
great  fury.  The  Romans  in  haste  snatched  up 
such  weapons  as  came  to  hand,  and  acquitted 
themselves  like  men  on  this  sudden  emergency. 
4 


50  THE    YOUTH'S 

The  Gauls  were  repulsed,  and  Camillus,  coming 
up  immediately  with  his  army,  defeated  Brennus 
and  entered  Rome  in  triumph.  A  wonderful 
change  took  place  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  who 
exhorted  and  encouraged  each  other  to  work,  and 
they  began  to  rebuild  immediately,  not  in  any 
order  or  upon  a  regular  plan,  but  as  inclination 
or  convenience  directed.  By  reason  of  this  hurry 
the  streets  of  Rome  were  narrow  and  intricate, 
and  the  houses  badly  laid  out ;  for  they  tell  us 
both  the  walls  of  the  city  and  the  streets  were 
rebuilt  within  the  compass  of  a  year. 

Soon  after  Camillus  had  been  appointed  dic- 
tator the  sixth  time  the  Gauls  again  marched 
against  Rome,  and  he  defeated  them  near  the 
river  Anio.     He  died  of  the  plague  b.c.  365. 


PERICLES. 

Note. — Pericles  (Athenian).  Pericles  was  born  of  a 
noble  and  wealthy  family.  He  was  gifted  with 
wonderful  eloquence,  and  began  to  take  part  in 
public  affairs  about  B.C.  469.  He  lost  many 
of  his  friends  and  finally  his  favorite  son  Paralus, 
through  the  plague.  Pericles  was  heart-broken 
and  died  after  a  lingering  illness,  b.c  429. 

This  great  Athenian  general,  statesman,  and 
orator,  was  a  son  of  Xanthippus  and  Agariste.  His 
person  was  well  formed,  but  his  head  was  dispro- 
portionately long.  For  this  reason  almost  all  his 
statues  have  the  head  covered  with  a  helmet,  the 
statuaries  choosing,  I  suppose,  to  hide  that  de- 
fect ;  but  the  Athenian  poets  called  him  Schino- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  5  I 

cephalus,    or   onion-head.     And   Teleclides   says 
of  him — 

"  Now,  in  a  maze  of  thought  he  ruminates 
On  strange  expedients,  while  his  head,  depressed 
With  its  own  weight,  sinks  on  his  knees;  and  now 
From  the  vast  caverns  of  his  brain  burst  forth 
Storms  and  fierce  thunders." 

Damon,  under  the  pretence  of  teaching  him 
music,  instructed  him  in  politics,  and  he  attended 
the  lectures  of  Zeno  on  natural  philosophy.  But 
the  philosopher  with  whom  he  was  most  inti- 
mately acquainted,  who  gave  him  that  force  and 
sublimity  of  sentiment  superior  to  all  the  dema- 
gogues, was  Anaxagoras.  This  was  he  whom  the 
people  of  those  times  called  "nous,"  or  intelli- 
gence, either  in  admiration  of  his  great  under- 
standing and  knowledge  of  the  works  of  nature, 
or  because  he  was  the  first  who  clearly  proved 
that  the  universe  owed  its  formation  neither  to 
chance  nor  necessity. 

Charmed  with  the  company  of  this  philosopher, 
and  instructed  by  him  in  the  sublimest  sciences, 
Pericles  acquired  not  only  an  elevation  of  senti- 
ment, and  a  loftiness  and  purity  of  style,  far  re- 
moved from  the  low  expression  of  the  vulgar,  but 
likewise  a  gravity  of  countenance  which  relaxed 
not  into  laughter,  a  firm  and  even  tone  of  voice, 
an  easy  deportment,  and  a  decency  of  dress, 
which  no  vehemence  of  speaking  ever  put  into 
disorder.  These  things,  and  others  of  the  like 
nature,  excited  admiration  in  all  who  saw  him. 

Anaxagoras   also    cured    him    of   superstition, 


52  THE    YOUTHS 

and  taught  him  to  be  patient  under  injuries.  His 
eloquence  improved  with  his  knowledge  of  phil- 
osophy, and  from  the  force  of  it  he  was  surnamed 
Olympias.  The  strokes  of  satire,  both  serious 
and  ludicrous,  in  the  comedies  of  those  times,  in- 
dicate that  this  title  was  given  him  chiefly  on  ac- 
count of  his  eloquence  ;  for  they  tell  us  that  in  his 
harangues  he  thundered  and  lightened,  and  that 
his  tongue  was  armed  with  thunder.  Thucydides 
is  said  to  have  given  a  pleasant  account  of  the 
force  of  his  eloquence.  Thucydides  was  a  great 
and  respectable  man,  who,  for  a  long  time,  op- 
posed the  measures  of  Pericles  ;  and  when  Archi- 
damus,  one  of  the  kings  of  Lacedsemon,  asked 
him,  "Which  was  the  best  wrestler,  Pericles  or 
he?"  he  answered,  "When  I  throw  him  he  says  he 
was  never  down,  and  he  persuades  the  very  spec- 
tators to  believe  so. "  Yet  such  was  the  solicitude 
of  Pericles,  when  he  had  to  speak  in  public,  that 
he  always  first  addressed  a  prayer  to  the  gods — ■ 
"That  not  a  word  might  unawares  escape  him  un- 
suitable to  the  occasion." 

Thucydides  represents  the  administration  of 
Pericles  as  favoring  aristocracy,  and  tells  us  that 
though  the  government  was  called  democratical, 
it  was  really  in  the  hands  of  one  who  had  en- 
grossed the  whole  authority.  Many  other  writers 
likewise  inform  us  that  by  him  the  people  were 
first  indulged  with  a  division  of  lands,  were 
treated  at  the  public  expense  with  theatrical  di- 
versions, and  were  paid  for  the  most  common 
services  to  the  State.      By  the  constructing  of 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  53 

great  edifices,  which  required  many  arts  and  a 
long  time  to  finish  them,  the  mechanics  had 
equal  pretensions  to  be  paid  out  of  the  treasury 
(though  they  stirred  not  out  of  the  city)  with  the 
mariners  and  soldiers,  guards  and  garrisons ;  for 
the  different  materials,  such  as  stone,  brass, 
ivory,  gold,  ebony,  and  cypress,  furnished  em- 
ployment to  carpenters,  masons,  braziers,  gold- 
smiths, painters,  turners,  and  other  artificers. 
The  conveyance  of  the  materials  by  sea  employed 
merchants  and  sailors,  and  by  land  wheelwrights, 
wagoners,  carriers,  ropemakers,  leather- cutters, 
paviors,  and  iron  founders.  Every  art  had  a  num- 
ber of  the  lower  people  ranged  in  proper  subordi- 
nation to  execute  it,  like  soldiers  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  general,  and  thus,  by  the  exercise  of 
these  different  trades,  plenty  was  diffused  among 
persons  of  every  rank  and  condition.  Works 
were  thus  raised  of  an  astonishing  magnitude  and 
inimitable  beauty  and  perfection,  every  architect 
striving  to  surpass  the  magnificence  of  the  design 
with  the  elegance  of  the  execution  ;  yet  still  the 
most  wonderful  circumstance  was  the  expedition 
with  which  they  were  completed.  Many  edifices, 
each  of  which  seems  to  have  required  the  labor  of 
several  successive  ages,  were  finished  during  the 
administration  of  one  prosperous  man. 

Pericles  was  so  proud  of  these  buildings  that, 
when  the  people  complained  of  the  cost,  he 
offered  to  be  at  the  whole  expense  himself,  if 
he  might  be  allowed  to  inscribe  his  own  name 
on   them.     He  was   particularly  attentive  to  his 


54  THE    YOUTHS 

finances.  He  used  to  turn  a  whole  year's  produce 
into  money  altogether,  and  with  this  he  bought, 
from  day  to  day,  all  manner  of  necessaries  at  the 
market ;  but  this  way  of  living  was  not  agreeable 
to  his  sons  when  grown  up,  and  the  allowance  he 
made  the  women  did  not  appear  to  them  a  gener- 
ous one.  They  complained  of  a  pittance  daily 
measured  out  with  scrupulous  economy,  which 
admitted  of  none  of  those  superfluities  so  common 
in  great  houses  and  wealthy  families,  and  they 
could  not  bear  to  think  of  the  expenses  being  so 
nicely  adjusted  to  the  income. 

His  chief  merit  in  war  was  the  safety  of  his 
measures.  He  never  willingly  engaged  in  any 
uncertain  or  very  dangerous  expedition,  nor  had 
any  ambition  to  imitate  those  generals  who  are 
admired  as  great  men  because  their  rash  enter- 
prises have  been  attended  with  success ;  he  al- 
ways told  the  Athenians  "that  as  far  as  their  fate 
depended  upon  him  they  should  be  immortal." 

Pericles,  on  his  return  to  Athens  after  the  re- 
duction of  Samos,  celebrated  in  a  splendid  man- 
ner the  obsequies  of  his  countrymen  who  fell  in 
that  war,  and  pronounced  himself  the  funeral 
oration,  usual  on  such  occasions.  This  gained 
him  great  applause ;  and  when  he  came  down 
from  the  rostrum  the  women  paid  their  respects 
to  him,  and  presented  him  with  crowns  and  chap- 
lets,  like  a  champion  just  returned  victorious  from 
the  lists. 

Ion  informs  us  that  he  was  highly  elated  with 
this  conquest,  and   scrupled  not  to  say,  "That 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  55 

Agamemnon  spent  ten  years  in  reducing  one  of 
the  cities  of  the  barbarians,  whereas  he  had  taken 
the  richest  and  most  powerful  city  among  the 
Ionians  in  nine  months. " 

During  the  first  expedition  of  the  Peloponnesian 
war  Pericles  showed  his  care  for  his  soldiers  by 
many  careful  maneuvers.  As  to  those  that  were 
eager  for  an  engagement  and  uneasy  at  his  slow 
proceedings,  he  endeavored  to  bring  them  to  rea- 
son by  observing,  "That  trees  when  lopped  will 
soon  grow  again,  but  when  men  are  cut  off  the 
loss  is  not  easily  repaired. "  On  one  occasion  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun  threw  his  soldiers  into  the 
greatest  consternation.  Pericles  was  on  board 
his  galley,  and  observing  that  the  pilot  was  much 
astonished  and  perplexed,  took  his  cloak,  and 
having  covered  his  eyes  with  it,  asked  him,  "If 
he  found  anything  terrible  in  that,  or  considered 
it  as  a  sad  presage  ?"  Upon  his  answering  in  the 
negative,  he  said,  "Where  is  the  difference  then 
between  this  and  the  other,  except  that  something 
bigger  than  my  cloak  causes  the  eclipse?" 

Pericles  died  of  the  plague,  429  b.c.  When  he 
was  at  the  point  of  death,  his  surviving  friends 
and  the  principal  citizens  sitting  about  his  bed 
discoursed  together  concerning  his  extraordinary 
virtue,  and  the  great  authority  he  had  enjoyed, 
and  enumerated  his  various  exploits  and  the  num- 
ber of  his  victories  ;  for,  while  he  was  commander- 
in-chief,  he  had  erected  no  less  than  nine  trophies 
to  the  honor  of  Athens.  These  things  they  talked 
of,  supposing  that  he  attended  not  to  what  they 


56  THE    YOUTH'S 

said,  but  that  his  senses  were  gone.  He  took  no- 
tice, however,  of  every  word  they  had  spoken,  and 
thereupon  delivered  himself  audibly  as  follows  : — 
"I  am  surprised  that  while  you  dwell  upon  and 
extol  these  acts  of  mine,  though  fortune  had  her 
share  in  them,  and  many  other  generals  have 
performed  the  like,  you  take  no  notice  of  the 
greatest  and  most  honorable  part  of  my  character, 
namely,  that  no  Athenian,  through  my  means, 
ever  put  on  mourning. " 


FABIUS  MAXIMUS. 

Note. — Fabius  Maximus  (Roman).  The  Fabii  were  an 
illustrious  Roman  family  divided  into  many 
branches.  Fabius  Maximus  Verrucosus  is  consid- 
ered the  greatest  of  the  family.  He  was  surnamed 
"  Cunctator,"  the  temporizer,  which  art  of  war  he 
exemplified  successfully  in  the  conflict  he  sustained 
with  Hannibal.     He  died  B.C.  203. 

The  founder  of  the  family  of  the  Fabii,  one  of 
the  most  numerous  and  illustrious  in  Rome,  was 
Fabius,  a  son  of  Hercules.  Fabius  Maximus,  of 
whom  we  are  writing,  was  the  fourth  in  descent. 
He  had  the  surname  of  Verrucosus,  from  a  small 
wart  on  his  upper  lip.  He  was  likewise  called 
Ovicula,  from  the  mildness  and  gravity  of  his  be- 
havior when  a  boy.  Nay,  his  composed  demeanor, 
and  his  silence,  his  caution  in  engaging  in  the  di- 
versions of  the  other  boys,  the  slowness  and  diffi- 
culty with  which  he  took  up  what  was  taught  him, 
together  with  the  submissive  manner  in  which  he 
complied   with   the  proposals    of    his  comrades, 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  57 

brought  him  under  the  suspicion  of  stupidity  and 
foolishness  with  those  who  did  not  thoroughly 
know  him.  Yet  a  few  there  were  who  perceived 
that  his  composedness  was  owing  to  the  solidity 
of  his  manner,  and  who  discerned  withal  a  mag- 
nanimity and  lion-like  courage  in  his  nature.  In 
a  short  time,  when  application  to  business  drew 
him  out,  it  was  obvious  that  his  seeming  inactiv- 
ity was  a  command  which  he  had  of  his  passions, 
that  his  cautiousness  was  prudence,  and  that  that 
which  had  passed  for  heaviness  and  insensibility 
was  really  an  immovable  firmness  of  soul.  He 
saw  what  an  important  concern  the  administra- 
tion was,  and  in  what  wars  the  republic  was  fre- 
quently engaged,  and  therefore  by  exercise  pre- 
pared his  body,  considering  its  strength  as  a  nat- 
ural armor.  At  the  same  time  he  improved  his 
powers  of  persuasion,  as  the  engines  by  which 
the  people  are  to  be  moved.  In  his  eloquence 
there  was  nothing  of  affectation,  no  empty  plau- 
sible elegance,  but  it  was  full  of  that  good  sense 
which  was  peculiar  to  him,  and  had  a  sententious 
force  and  depth,  said  to  have  resembled  that  of 
Thucydides. 

Fabius  Maximus  was  five  times  consul ;  and  in 
his  first  consulship  was  honored  with  a  triumph 
for  the  victory  he  gained  over  the  Ligurians,  who, 
being  defeated  by  him  in  a  set  battle,  with  the 
loss  of  a  great  number  of  men,  were  driven  be- 
hind the  Alps,  and  kept  from  such  inroads  and 
ravages  as  they  used  to  make  in  the  neighboring 
provinces. 


58  THE    YOUTH'S 

Hannibal  having  invaded  Italy,  and  gained  the 
battle  of  Trebia,  advanced  through  Tuscany,  lay- 
ing waste  the  country,  and  striking  Rome  itself 
with  terror  and  astonishment.  This  desolation 
was  announced  by  signs  and  prodigies, — some 
familiar  to  the  Romans,  as  that  of  thunder  for 
instance,  and  others  equally  strange  and  unac- 
countable. For  it  was  said  that  certain  shields 
sweated  blood ;  that  bloody  corn  was  cut  at  An- 
tium  ;  that  red-hot  stones  fell  from  the  air ;  that 
the  Falerians  saw  the  heavens  open,  and  many 
billets  fall,  upon  one  of  which  these  words  were 
very  legible,  "Mars  brandisheth  his  arms."  Fa- 
bius  paid  but  little  regard  to  prodigies,  as  too 
absurd  to  be  believed,  notwithstanding  the  great 
effect  they  had  upon  the  multitude.  But  being 
informed  bow  small  the  numbers  of  the  enemy 
were  and  of  the  want  of  money,  he  advised  the 
Romans  to  have  patience, — not  to  give  battle  to  a 
man  who  led  on  an  army  hardened  by  many  con- 
flicts for  this  very  purpose,  but  to  send  succor  to 
their  allies,  and  to  secure  the  towns  that  were  in 
their  possession,  until  the  vigor  of  the  enemy  ex- 
pired of  itself,  like  a  flame  for  want  of  fuel. 

He  could  not,  however,  prevail  upon  Flaminius. 
That  general  declared  he  would  never  suffer  the 
war  to  approach  Rome  ;  nor,  like  Camillus  of  old, 
dispute  within  the  walls  who  should  be  the  master 
of  the  city.  He  therefore  ordered  the  tribunes  to 
draw  out  the  forces,  and  mounted  his  horse,  but 
was  thrown  headlong  off,  the  horse,  without  any 
visible  cause,  being  seized  with  a  fright  and  trem- 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  59 

bling  ;  yet  he  persisted  in  his  resolution  of  march- 
ing out  to  meet  Hannibal,  and  drew  up  his  army 
near  the  lake  called  Thrasymenus  in  Tuscany. 

While  the  armies  were  engaged  there  happened 
an  earthquake,  which  overturned  whole  cities, 
changed  the  course  of  rivers,  and  tore  off  the  tops 
of  mountains  ;  yet  not  one  of  the  combatants  was 
in  the  least  sensible  of  that  violent  motion. 
Flaminius  himself,  having  greatly  signalized  his 
strength  and  valor,  fell,  and  with  him  the  bravest 
of  his  troops.  The  rest  being  routed,  a  great 
carnage  ensued  ;  full  fifteen  thousand  were  slain, 
and  as  many  taken  prisoners. 

Fabius  was  then  chosen  dictator,  but  instead  of 
immediately  giving  battle  to  Hannibal  he  en- 
camped in  the  mountains  and  watched  the  enemy. 
When  they  rested  he  did  the  same,  and  when  they 
were  in  motion  he  showed  himself  upon  the  height 
at  such  a  distance  as  not  to  be  compelled  to  fight, 
but  yet  near  enough  to  keep  the  enemy  in  per- 
petual alarm.  These  apparently  dilatory  proceed- 
ings exposed  Fabius  to  contempt,  even  in  his  own 
army.  His  opponents  asked  in  derision,  "  Whether 
he  intended  to  take  his  army  up  into  heaven,  as 
he  had  bidden  adieu  to  the  world  below,  or 
whether  he  would  screen  himself  from  the  enemy 
with  clouds  and  fogs?"  When  the  dictator's 
friends  brought  him  an  account  of  this  and  sim- 
ilar aspersions,  and  exhorted  him  to  wipe  them 
off  by  risking  a  battle, —  "In  that  case,"  said  he, 
"I  should  be  of  a  more  dastardly  spirit  than  they 
represent  me,  if,  through  fear  of  insults  and  re- 


60  THE    YOUTH'S 

proaches,  I  should  depart  from  my  own  resolu- 
tion. But  to  fear  for  my  country  is  not  a  disa- 
greeable fear.  That  man  is  unworthy  of  such  a 
command  as  this  who  shrinks  under  calumnies 
and  slanders,  and  complies  with  the  humor  of 
those  whom  he  ought  to  govern,  and  whose  folly 
and  rashness  it  is  his  duty  to  restrain. " 

One  of  the  stratagems  of  Hannibal  during  the 
maneuvring  is  singularly  interesting.  The  con- 
trivance was  this  :  he  caused  two  thousand  oxen, 
which  he  had  in  his  camp,  to  have  torches  and 
dry  bavins  well  fastened  to  their  horns.  These,  in 
the  night,  upon  a  signal  given,  were  to  be  lighted, 
and  the  oxen  to  be  driven  to  the  mountains,  near 
the  narrow  pass  that  was  guarded  by  Fabius. 
While  those  that  had  it  in  charge  were  thus  em- 
ployed, he  decamped,  and  marched  slowly  for- 
ward. So  long  as  the  fire  was  moderate,  and 
burnt  only  the  torches  and  bavins,  the  oxen 
moved  softly  on,  as  they  were  driven  up  the  hills ; 
and  the  shepherds  and  herdsmen  on  the  adjacent 
heights  took  them  for  an  army  that  marched  in 
order  with  lighted  torches.  But  when  the  ani- 
mals' horns  were  burnt  to  the  roots,  and  the  fire 
pierced  to  the  quick,  terrified,  and  mad  with  pain, 
they  no  longer  kept  any  certain  route,  but  ran  up 
the  hills,  with  their  foreheads  and  horns  flaming, 
and  setting  everything  on  fire  that  came  in  their 
way.  The  Romans  who  guarded  the  pass  were 
astonished  ;  for  the  oxen  appeared  to  them  like  a 
great  number  of  men  running  up  and  down  with 
torches,  which  scattered   fire  on  every  side.     In 


plutarch's  lives.  6i 

their  fears,  of  course,  they  concluded  that  they 
should  be  attacked  and  surrounded  by  the  enemy  ; 
for  which  reason  they  quitted  the  pass,  and  fled 
to  the  main  body  in  the  camp.  Immediately 
Hannibal's  light-armed  troops  took  possession  of 
the  outlet,  and  the  rest  of  his  forces  marched 
safely  through,  loaded  with  a  rich  booty. 

The  general  in  command  of  the  Roman  cavalry 
was  named  Minucius.  He  was  very  eager  to  bring 
on  an  engagement  with  Hannibal;  and,  contrary 
to  the  orders  of  Fabius,  he  did  so,  and  partly  de- 
feated the  enemy.  This  success  so  pleased  the 
Romans  that  they  elected  Minucius  dictator  with 
Fabius,  and  it  was  proposed  that  the  dictators 
should  have  the  command  of  the  army  alternately  ; 
but  Fabius  divided  the  forces,  and  gave  the  com- 
mand of  one  half  to  Minucius,  who  was  soon 
drawn  into  an  engagement  by  Hannibal,  and  de- 
feated. Fabius  had  expected  the  result,  and  was 
waiting  at  hand  with  his  half  of  the  army,  and, 
advancing  at  the  right  moment,  compelled  Han 
nibal  to  retreat. 

After  the  battle,  Fabius,  having  collected  the 
spoils  of  such  Carthaginians  as  were  left  dead 
upon  the  field,  returned  to  his  post ;  nor  did  he 
let  fall  one  haughty  or  angry  word  against  his 
colleague.  As  for  Minucius,  having  called  his 
men  together,  he  thus  expressed  himself : — 
"  Friends  and  fellow-soldiers,  not  to  err  at  all  in  the 
management  of  great  affairs  is  above  the  wisdom 
of  men  ;  but  it  is  the  part  of  a  prudent  and  good 
man  to  learn,  from  his  errors  and  miscarriages, 


62  THE    YOUTH'S 

to  correct  himself  for  the  future.  For  my  part,  1 
confess  that  though  fortune  has  frowned  upon  me 
a  little,  I  have  much  to  thank  her  for.  For  what 
I  could  not  be  brought  to  be  sensible  of  in  so 
long  a  time,  I  have  learned  in  the  small  compass 
of  one  day, — that  I  know  ot  how  to  command, 
but  have  need  to  be  under  the  direction  of  another. 
From  this  moment  I  bid  adieu  to  the  ambition  of 
getting  the  better  of  a  man  whom  it  is  an  honor 
to  be  foiled  by.  In  all  other  respects  the  dictator 
shall  be  your  commander ;  but  in  the  due  expres- 
sions of  gratitude  to  him.  I  will  be  your  leader 
still  by  being  the  first  to  show  an  example  of  obe- 
dience and  submission." 

He  then  marched  to  the  camp  of  Fabius,  and 
thus  addressed  himself  to  the  dictator: — "You 
have  this  day  Fabius,  obtained  two  victories,  one 
over  the  enemy  by  your  valor,  the  other  over  3'our 
colleague  by  your  prudence  and  humanity.  By 
the  former  you  saved  us,  by  the  latter  you  have  in- 
structed us  ;  and  Hannibal's  victory  over  us  is  not 
more  disgraceful  than  yours  is  honorable  and  sal- 
utary to  us.  I  call  you  '  Father, '  not  knowing  a 
more  honorable  name,  and  am  more  indebted  to 
you  than  to  my  real  father.  To  him  I  owe  my 
being,  but  to  you  the  preservation  of  my  life,  and 
the  lives  of  all  these  brave  men." 

Fabius  Maximus  did  not  live  to  hear  of  the 
overthrow  of  Hannibal,  or  to  see  the  prosperity  of 
his  country  re-established ;  for  about  the  time 
that  Hannibal  left  Italy  he  fell  sick  and  died. 
The    expense    of    Fabius'    funeral   was  not  de- 


plutarch's  lives.  63 

frayed  out  of  the  Roman  treasury,  but  every  citi- 
zen contributed  a  small  piece  of  money  toward 
it ;  not  that  he  died  without  effects,  but  that  the 
Romans  might  bury  him  as  the  father  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  that  the  honors  paid  him  at  his  death 
might  be  suitable  to  the  dignity  of  his  life. 

ALCIBIADES. 

Note. — Alcibiades  (Greek).  Alcibiades  was  born 
about  450  B.C.  and  descended  on  both  sides  from 
the  most  illustrious  families  of  his  country.  In- 
heriting great  wealth,  endowed  with  remarkable 
attractiveness  of  person  and  brilliant  mental 
powers,  he  could  not  fail  to  become  a  potent  fac- 
tor in  the  counsels  and  fortunes  of  Athens.  The 
date  and  particulars  of  his  death  will  be  found  in 
the  sketch  which  follows. 

Alcibiades  was  descended  from  Ajax.  His 
father  was  Clinias,  who  had  gained  great  honor  in 
the  sea-fight  of  Artemisium,  where  he  fought  in  a 
galley  fitted  out  at  his  own  expense.  By  reason 
of  the  natural  vigor  of  his  constitution,  and  by 
his  happy  disposition,  he  long  retained  his  youth- 
ful beauty. 

He  had  a  lisping  in  his  speech,  which  became 
him,  and  gave  a  graceful  and  persuasive  turn  to 
his  discourse.  His  manners  were  far  from  being 
uniform  ;  nor  is  it  strange  that  they  varied  ac- 
cording to  the  many  vicissitudes  and  wonderful 
turns  of  his  fortune.  He  was  naturally  a  man  of 
strong  passions ;  but  his  ruling  passion  was  an 
ambition  to  contend  and  overcome.  This  ap- 
pears from  what  is  related  of  his  sayings  when 


64  the  youth's 

a  boy.  When  hard  pressed  in  wrestling,  to  pre- 
vent his  being  thrown  he  bit  the  hands  of  his  an- 
tagonist, who  let  go  his  hold,  and  said,  "Alci- 
biades,  you  bite  like  a  woman."  "No,"  said  he, 
"like  a  lion." 

One  day  he  was  playing  at  dice  with  other  boys 
in  the  street ;  and  when  it  came  to  his  turn  to 
throw,  a  loaded  wagon  came  up.  At  first  he 
called  to  the  driver  to  stop,  because  he  was  to 
throw  in  the  way  over  which  the  wagon  was  to 
pass.  The  rustic  disregarding  him  and  driving 
on,  the  other  boys  broke  away;  but  Alcibiades 
threw  himself  upon  his  face  directly  before  the 
wagon,  and  stretching  himself  out  bade  the  fel- 
low drive  on  if  he  pleased.  Upon  this  he  was  so 
startled  that  he  stopped  his  horses,  while  those 
who  saw  it  ran  up  to  him  in  terror. 

In  the  course  of  his  education  he  willingly  took 
the  lessons  of  his  other  masters ;  but  refused 
learning  to  play  upon  the  flute,  which  he  looked 
upon  as  a  mean  art  and  unbecoming  a  gentle- 
man. 

"Playing  upon  the  lyre, "  he  would  say,  "has 
nothing  in  it  that  disorders  the  features  or  form, 
but  a  man  is  hardly  to  be  known  by  his  most  inti- 
mate friends  when  he  plays  upon  the  flute.  Be- 
sides, the  lyre  does  not  hinder  the  performer  from 
speaking  or  accompanying  it  with  a  song,  where- 
as the  flute  so  engages  the  mouth  and  the  breath 
that  it  leaves  no  possibility  of  speaking." 

Many  persons  of  rank  made  their  court  to  Alci- 
biades, but  it  is  evident  that  they  were  charmed 


plutarch's  lives.  65 

and  attracted  by  the  beauty  of  his  person.  So- 
crates was  the  only  one  whose  regards  were  fixed 
upon  the  mind,  and  bore  witness  to  the  young 
man's  virtue  and  ingenuity,  the  rays  of  which  he 
could  distinguish  through  his  fine  form  ;  and  fear- 
ing lest  the  pride  of  riches  and  high  rank,  and 
the  crowd  of  flatterers,  both  Athenians  and  stran- 
gers, should  corrupt  him,  he  used  his  best  en- 
deavors to  prevent  it,  and  took  care  that  so  hope- 
ful a  plant  should  not  lose  its  fruit  and  perish  in 
the  very  flower. 

Alcibiades  was  fond  of  animals,  and  he  was 
famed  for  his  breed  of  horses  and  the  number  of 
his  chariots  ;  for  no  one  besides  himself,  whether 
private  person  or  king,  ever  sent  seven  chariots  at 
one  time  to  the  Olympic  games.  The  first,  the 
second,  and  the  fourth  prizes,  according  to  Thu- 
cydides,  or  the  third,  as  Euripides  relates  it,  he 
bore  away  at  once,  which  exceeds  everything  per- 
formed by  the  most  ambitious  in  that  way.  Eurip- 
ides thus  celebrates  his  success  :— 

"  Great  son  of  Clinias,  I  record  thy  glory, 

First  on  the  dusty  plain 

The  threefold  prize  to  gain; 
What  hero  boasts  thy  praise  in  Grecian  story? 
Twice  does  the  trumpet's  voice  proclaim 
Around  the  plausive  cirque  thy  honor'd  name  : 

Twice  on  thy  brow  was  seen 

The  peaceful  olive's  green, 
The  glorious  palm  of  easy  purchased  fame.'-' 

His  prodigious   liberality,    the    games   he   ex- 
hibited, and  the  other  extraordinary  instances  of 
his  munificence  to  the  people,  the  glory  of  his  an- 
5 


66  the  youth's 

cestors,  the  beauty  of  his  person,  and  the  force  of 
his  eloquence,  together  with  his  heroic  strength, 
his  valor,  and  experience  in  war,  so  gained  upon 
the  Athenians  that  they  connived  at  his  errors, 
and  spoke  of  them  with  all  imaginable  tender- 
ness, calling  them  sallies  of  youth  and  good- 
humored  frolics. 

Notwithstanding  his  popularity  and  success  as 
a  soldier,  his  enemies  found  cause  of  complaint. 
The  information  against  him  ran  thus: — "Thes- 
salus,  the  son  of  Cimon,  of  the  ward  of  Lacias, 
accuseth  Alcibiades,  the  son  of  Clinias,  of  the 
ward  of  Scambonis,  of  sacrilegiously  offending  the 
goddesses  Ceres  and  Proserpine  by  counterfeit- 
ing their  mysteries,  and  showing  them  to  his 
companions  in  his  own  house.  Wearing  such  a 
robe  as  the  high-priest  does  while  he  shows  the 
holy  things,  he  called  himself  high-priest,  as  he 
did  Polytion,  torch-bearer,  and  Theodorus  of  the 
ward  of  Phygea,  herald  ;  and  the  rest  of  his  com- 
panions he  called  persons  initiated  and  brethren 
of  the  secret ;  herein  acting  contrary  to  the  rules 
and  ceremonies  established  by  the  Eumolpidse, 
the  heralds  and  priests  at  Eleusis."  As  he  did 
not  appear  they  condemned  him,  confiscated  his 
goods,  and  ordered  all  the  priests  and  priestesses 
to  pronounce  an  execration  against  him. 

He  regained  his  popularity,  and  after  many 
creditable  military  exploits  he  was  defeated  by 
Lysander,  who  destroyed  the  Athenian  fleet  and 
took  the  city  of  Athens.  He  established  there 
the   "thirty   tyrants,"  one   of   whom,   Critias   by 


plutarch's  lives.  67 

name,  exhorted  Lysander  to  have  Alcibiades 
killed.  Those  who  were  sent  to  assassinate  him, 
not  daring  to  enter  his  house,  surrounded  it  and 
set  it  on  fire.  As  soon  as  he  perceived  it  he  got 
together  large  quantities  of  clothes  and  hangings, 
and  threw  them  upon  the  fire  to  choke  it ;  then 
having  wrapped  his  robe  about  his  left  hand,  and 
taking  his  sword  in  his  right,  he  sallied  through 
the  fire,  and  got  safe  out  before  the  stuff  which 
he  had  thrown  upon  it  could  catch  fire.  At  sight 
of  him  the  barbarians  dispersed,  not  one  of  them 
daring  to  wait  for  him,  or  to  encounter  him  hand 
to  hand  ;  but,  standing  at  a  distance,  they  pierced 
him  with  their  darts  and  arrows.  Thus  fell  Alci- 
biades, at  the  age  of  forty-six,  in  the  year  b.c. 
404. 

CAIUS   MARCIUS   CORIOLANUS. 

Note. — Caius  Marcius  Coriolanus  (Roman).  Caius 
Marcius  was  a  famous  legendary  hero  of  Rome. 
His  banishment  was  decreed  in  491  B.C.  Tradi- 
tions differ  as  to  his  death.  It  is  claimed  by  some 
that  he  was  assassinated,  while  others  assert  that 
he  lived  to  an  old  age  among  the  Volscians. 

Caius  Marcius  was  brought  iip  by  his  mother  in 
her  widowhood.  The  loss  of  a  father,  though  at- 
tended with  other  disadvantages,  is  shown  by  him 
to  be  no  hindrance  to  a  man's  improving  in  virtue 
and  attaining  to  a  distinguished  excellence,  though 
bad  men  sometimes  allege  it  as  an  excuse  for 
their  corrupt  lives.  His  undaunted  courage  and 
firmness  of  mind  excited  him  to  many  great  ac- 


68  the  youth's 

tions,  and  carried  him  through  them  with  honor ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  the  violence  of  his  pas- 
sions, his  spirit  of  contention,  and  excessive  ob- 
stinacy, rendered  him  untractable  and  disagree- 
able in  conversation  ;  so  that  those  very  persons 
who  saw  with  admiration  his  soul  unshaken  with 
pleasures,  toils,  and  riches,  and  allowed  him  to 
be  possessed  of  the  virtues  of  temperance,  justice, 
and  fortitude,  yet,  in  the  councils  and  affairs  of 
State,  could  not  endure  his  imperious  temper  and 
that  savage  manner  which  was  too  haughty  for 
a  republic.  Indeed,  there  is  no  other  advantage 
to  be  had  from  a  liberal  education  equal  to  that  of 
polishing  and  softening  our  nature  by  reason  and 
discipline  ;  for  that  produces  an  evenness  of  be- 
havior, and  banishes  from  our  manners  all  ex- 
tremes. 

The  Romans  at  that  time  were  engaged  in  sev- 
eral wars,  and  fought  many  battles,  and  there 
was  not  one  that  Marcius  returned  from  without 
some  honorary  crown,  some  ennobling  distinction. 
The  end  which  others  proposed  in  their  acts  of 
valor  was  glory  ;  but  he  pursued  glory  because  the 
acquisition  of  it  delighted  his  mother ;  for  when 
she  was  witness  to  the  applauses  he  received, 
when  she  saw  him  crowned,  when  she  embraced 
him  with  tears  of  joy,  then  it  was  that  he  reck- 
oned himself  at  the  height  of  honor  and  felicity. 

He  was  called  Coriolanus  for  his  gallant  be- 
havior at  Corioli.  Soon  afterward  Marcius  stood 
for  the  consulship.  It  was  the  custom  for  those 
who  were  candidates  for  such  a  high  office  to  so- 


plutarch's  lives.  69 

licit  and  caress  the  people  in  the  forum,  and  at 
those  times  to  be  clad  in  a  loose  gown  without  the 
tunic.  That  humble  dress  was  thought  more 
suitable  for  suppliants,  and  it  was  convenient  for 
showing  their  wounds,  as  so  many  tokens  of 
valor.  It  was  not  from  any  suspicion  the  citizens 
then  had  of  bribery  that  they  required  the  candi- 
dates to  appear  before  them  ungirt,  and  without 
any  close  garment,  when  they  came  to  beg  their 
votes;  since  it  was  much  later  than  this,  and  in- 
deed many  ages  after,  that  buying  and  selling  stole 
in,  and  money  came  to  be  a  means  of  gaining  an 
election.  Then,  corruption  reaching  also  the 
tribunals  and  the  camps,  arms  were  subdued  by 
money,  and  the  commonwealth  was  changed  into 
a  monarchy.  It  was  a  shrewd  saying,  whoever 
said  it,  "That  the  man  who  first  ruined  the 
Roman  people  was  he  who  first  gave  them  treats 
and  gratuities. " 

When,  therefore,  Marcius  showed  the  wounds 
and  scars  he  had  received  in  the  many  glorious 
battles  he  had  fought  for  seventeen  years  succes- 
sively, the  people  were  struck  with  reverence  for 
his  virtue,  and  agreed  to  choose  him  consul.  But 
when  the  day  of  election  came  the  common  people 
altered  their  minds,  their  kindness  was  turned  to 
envy  and  indignation,  and  they  rejected  Marcius. 
Ultimately  he  was  tried  for  "treason  against  the 
commonwealtn,  in  designing  to  set  himself  up  as 
a  tyrant,"  and  being  condemned  by  a  majority  of 
three  tribes  he  was  doomed  to  perpetual  banish- 
ment. 


70  THE    YOUTHS 

The  pride  of  Coriolanus  would  not  permit  him 
to  make  his  court  to  those  who  were  capable  of 
conferring  honors  upon  him  ;  and  at  the  same 
time  his  ambition  filled  him  with  regret  and  in- 
dignation when  they  passed  him  by.  This,  then, 
is  the  blamable  part  of  his  character ;  all  the  rest 
is  great  and  glorious.  In  point  of  temperance 
and  disregard  of  riches  he  is  fit  to  be  compared 
with  the  most  illustrious  examples  of  integrity  in 
Greece. 

TIMOLEQN. 

Note. — Timoleon  (Greek).     Timoleon  was  a  general 

and  statesman.  With  the  assistance  of  his  brother 
Satyrus,  he  slew  his  elder  brother  Timophanes,  who 
aimed  at  the  sovereign  power.  He  died  at  Syra- 
cuse 337  B.C. 

This  celebrated  Corinthian  was  of  a  noble 
family.  His  father  was  Timodemus,  and  his 
mother  Demariste.  His  love  of  his  country  was 
remarkable,  and  so  was  the  mildness  of  his  dis- 
position, saving  that  he  bore  an  extreme  hatred 
to  tyrants  and  wicked  men.  His  natural  abili- 
ties for  war  were  so  happily  tempered,  that,  as 
an  extraordinary  prudence  was  seen  in  the  enter- 
prises of  his  younger  years,  so  an  undaunted 
courage  distinguished  his  declining  age. 

Timoleon's  most  celebrated  military  exploit 
was  the  expedition  against  Syracuse.  Scarce 
three  thousand  out  of  ten  times  that  number  took 
up  arms,  and  ventured  to  follow  Timoleon.  The 
mercenaries  were  in  number  four  thousand,  and 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  7  I 

of  them  about  a  thousand  gave  way  to  their  fears 
when  upon  the  march,  and  turned  back,  saying, 
that  "Timoleon  must  be  mad,  or  in  his  dotage,  to 
go  against  an  army  of  seventy  thousand  men  with 
only  five  thousand  foot  and  a  thousand  horse  ;  and 
to  draw  his  handful  of  men,  too,  eight  days'  march 
from  Syracuse,  by  which  means  there  could  be  no 
refuge  for  those  that  fled,  nor  burial  for  those 
that  fell  in  battle." 

Timoleon  considered  it  as  an  advantage  that 
these  cowards  discovered  themselves  before  the 
engagement ;  and  having  encouraged  the  rest,  he 
led  them  hastily  to  the  banks  of  the  Crimesus, 
where  he  was  told  the  Carthaginians  were  drawn 
together.  But  as  he  was  ascending  a  hill,  at  the 
top  of  which  the  enemy's  camp  and  all  their  vast 
forces  would  be  in  sight,  he  met  some  mules 
loaded  with  parsley ;  and  his  men  took  it  into 
their  heads  that  it  was  a  bad  omen,  because  the 
sepulchers  are  usually  crowned  with  parsley  ;  and 
thence  the  proverb  with  respect  to  one  that  is 
dangerously  ill,  "Such  a  one  has  need  of  nothing 
but  parsley."  To  deliver  them  from  this  super- 
stition, and  to  remove  the  panic,  Timoleon  ordered 
the  troops  to  halt,  and  making  a  speech  suitable 
to  the  occasion,  observed,  among  other  things, 
"That  crowns  were  brought  them  before  the  vic- 
tory, and  offered  themselves  of  their  own  accord  ;" 
for  the  Corinthians,  from  all  antiquity,  having 
looked  upon  a  wreath  of  parsley  as  sacred,  crowned 
the  victors  with  it  at  the  Isthmian  games. 

He   ascribed  all   his   successes   to  fortune ;  he 


72  THE    YOUTH  S 

often  said  he  was  highly  indebted  to  that  god- 
dess. In  his  house' he  built  a  chapel,  and  offered 
sacrifices  to  Chance,  and  dedicated  the  house  it- 
self to  Fortune  ;  for  the  Syracusans  had  given  him 
one  of  the  best  houses  in  the  city,  as  a  reward  for 
his  services,  and  provided  him,  besides,  a  very 
elegant  and  agreeable  retreat  in  the  country. 
There  it  was  that  he  spent  most  of  his  time,  with 
his  wife  and  children,  whom  he  had  sent  for  from 
Corinth ;  for  he  never  returned  home.  He  took 
no  part  in  the  troubles  of  Greece,  nor  exposed 
himself  to  public  envy — the  rock  which  great  gen- 
erals commonly  split  upon  in  their  insatiable  pur- 
suit of  honor  and  power ;  but  he  remained  in 
Sicily,  enjoying  the  blessings  he  had  established, 
and  of  which  the  greatest  of  all  was  to  see  so  many 
cities  and  so  many  thousands  of  people  happy 
through  his  means. 

He  died  at  a  good  age,  and  was  honored  with  a 
public  funeral,  being  described  in  the  funeral  ora- 
tion as  "the  man  who  had  destroyed  tyrants,  sub- 
dued barbarians,  re-peopled  great  cities  which 
had  lain  desolate,  and  who  had  restored  to  the 
Sicilians  their  laws  and  privileges." 


plutarch's  lives.  73 

PAULUS    ^MILIUS. 

Note. — Paulus  ^Emilius  (Roman).  This  Roman  gen- 
eral belonged  to  a  noble  family.  At  the  age  of 
forty-six  he  held  the  office  of  consul  and  was  sixty 
years  old  when  he  accepted  the  command  of  the 
armies  sent  against  Perseus,  king  of  Macedon.  He 
afterward  served  as  censor.  He  was  born  228 
b.c,  and  died  universally  regretted,  at  the  age  of 
sixty- eight. 

Paulus  zEmilius  was  so  named  from  the 
peculiar  charm  and  gracefulness  of  his  elocution. 
He  was  supposed  to  be  a  descendant  of  Numa. 

It  was  the  custom  for  those  that  were  appointed 
to  the  consulship  to  make  their  acknowledgments 
to  the  people  in  an  agreeable  speech  from  the  ros- 
trum. ^Emilius,  having  assembled  the  citizens  on 
this  occasion,  told  them, — "He  had  applied  for 
his  former  Consulship  because  he  wanted  a  com- 
mand ;  but  this  time  they  had  applied  to  him,  be- 
cause they  wanted  a  commander ;  and,  therefore, 
at  present  he  did  not  hold  himself  obliged  to 
them.  If  they  could  have  the  war  better  directed 
by  another,  he  would  readily  quit  the  employ- 
ment; but  if  they  placed  their  confidence  in  him, 
he  expected  they  would  not  interfere  with  his  or- 
ders, or  propagate  idle  reports,  but  provide  in  si- 
lence what  was  necessary  for  the  war ,  for  if  they 
wanted  to  command  their  commanders  their  ex- 
peditions would  be  more  ridiculous  than  ever. " 
It  is  not  easy  to  express  how  much  reverence  this 
speech  procured  him  from  the  citizens,  and  what 
high   expectations  it    produced.      They  rejoiced 


74  THE  youth's 

that  they  had  passed  by  the  smooth-tongued  can- 
didates, and  made  choice  of  a  general  who  had 
so  much  freedom  of  speech  and  such  dignity  of 
manner. 

Paulus  -<3£milius  by  good  generalship  defeated 
Perseus,  king  of  Macedonia,  who  was  taken  pris- 
oner. For  this  success  at  the  battle  of  Pydna 
iEmilius  was  voted  a  triumph,  which  was  carried 
out  after  this  manner  :— In  every  theater,  or  cir- 
cus, as  they  called  it,  where  equestrian  games 
used  to  be  held,  in  the  forum,  and  other  parts  of 
the  city,  which  were  convenient  for  seeing  the 
procession,  the  people  erected  scaffolds,  and  on 
the  day  of  the  triumph  were  all  dressed  in  white. 
The  temples  were  set  open,  adorned  with  gar- 
lands, and  smoking  with  incense.  Many  lictors 
and  other  officers  compelled  the  disorderly  crowd 
to  make  way,  and  opened  a  clear  passage.  The 
triumph  took  up  three  days.  On  the  first  were 
exhibited  the  images,  paintings,  and  colossal 
statues  taken  from  the  enemy,  and  carried  in  two 
hundred  and  fifty  chariots.  Next  day  the  richest 
and  most  beautiful  of  the  Macedonian  arms  were 
brought  up  in  a  great  number  of  wagons.  These 
glittered  with  new  furbished  brass  and  polished 
steel ;  and  though  they  were  piled  with  great  art 
and  judgment,  yet  seemed  to  be  thrown  together 
promiscuously  ;  helmets  being  placed  upon  shields, 
breast-plates  upon  greaves,  Cretan  targets, 
Thracian  bucklers,  and  quivers  of  arrows,  hud- 
dled among  the  horses'  bits,  with  the  points  of 
naked  swords  and  long  pikes  appearing  through 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  75 

on  every  side.  All  these  arms  were  tied  together 
with  such  a  just  liberty,  that  room  was  left  for 
them  to  clatter  as  they  were  drawn  along,  and  the 
clank  of  them  was  so  harsh  and  terrible,  that  they 
were  not  seen  without  dread,  though  among  the 
spoils  of  the  conquered.  After  the  carriages 
loaded  with  arms,  walked  three  thousand  men, 
who  carried  the  silver  money  in  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  vessels,  each  of  which  contained  three 
talents,  and  was  borne  by  four  men.  Others 
brought  bowls,  horns,  goblets,  and  cups,  all  of 
silver,  disposed  in  such  order  as  would  make  the 
best  show,  and  valuable  not  only  for  their  size 
but  the  depth  of  the  basso-relievo.  On  the  third 
day,  early  in  the  morning,  first  came  up  the 
trumpets,  not  with  such  airs  as  are  used  in  a  pro- 
cession of  solemn  entry,  but  with  such  as  the  Ro- 
mans sound  when  they  animate  their  troops  to  the 
charge.  These  were  followed  by  a  hundred  and 
twenty  fat  oxen,  with  their  horns  gilded,  and  set  off 
with  ribbons  and  garlands.  The  young  men  who 
led  these  victims  were  girded  with  belts  of  curious 
workmanship  ;  and  after  them  came  the  boys  who 
carried  the  gold  and  silver  vessels  for  the  sacri- 
fice. Next  the  persons  who  carried  the  gold  coin, 
in  vessels  which  held  three  talents  each,  like  those 
that  contained  the  silver,  and  which  were  to  the 
number  of  seventy-seven.  Then  followed  those 
that  bore  the  consecrated  bowl,  of  ten  talents 
weight,  which  ^milius  had  caused  to  be  made  of 
gold,  and  adorned  with  precious  stones ;  and 
those  that  exposed  to  view  the  cups  of  Antigonus 


76  the  youth's 

of  Seleucus,  and  such  as  were  of  the  make  of  the 
famed  artist  Shericles,  together  with  the  gold 
plate  that  had  been  used  at  Perseus'  table.  Im- 
mediately after  was  to  be  seen  the  chariot  of  that 
prince,  with  his  armor  upon  it,  and  his  diadem 
upon  that ;  at  a  little  distance  his  children  were 
led  captive,  attended  by  a  great  number  of  gover- 
nors, masters,  and  preceptors,  all  in  tears,  who 
stretched  out  their  hands  by  way  of  supplication 
to  the  spectators,  and  taught  the  children  to  do 
the  same.  There  were  two  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter, all  too  young  to  be  much  affected  with  the 
greatness  of  their  misfortunes.  This  insensibility 
of  theirs  made  the  change  of  their  condition  more 
pitiable ;  in  so  much  that  Perseus  passed  on  al- 
most without  notice.  So  fixed  were  the  eyes  of 
the  Romans  upon  the  children,  from  pity  of  their 
fate,  that  many  of  them  shed  tears,  and  till  they 
were  gone  by  none  tasted  the  joy  of  the  triumph 
without  a  mixture  of  pain.  Behind  the  children 
and  their  train  walked  Perseus  himself,  clad  all 
in  black,  and  wearing  sandals  of  the  fashion  of 
his  country.  He  had  the  appearance  of  a  man 
who  was  overwhelmed  with  terror,  and  whose 
reason  was  almost  staggered  with  the  weight  of 
his  misfortunes.  He  was  followed  by  a  great 
number  of  friends  and  favorites,  whose  counte- 
nances were  oppressed  with  sorrow,  and  who,  by 
fixing  their  weeping  eyes  continually  upon  their 
prince,  testified  to  the  spectators  that  it  was  his 
lot  which  they  lamented,  and  that  they  were  re- 
gardless of  their  own.     Next  were  carried  four 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  77 

hundred  coronets  of  gold,  which  the  cities  had 
sent  ^Emilius,  along  with  their  embassies,  as 
compliments  on  his  victory.  Then  came  the  Con- 
sul himself,  riding  in  a  magnificent  chariot — a 
man,  exclusive  of  the  pomp  of  power,  worthy  to 
be  seen  and  admired  ;  but  his  good  mien  was  now 
set  off  with  a  purple  robe  interwoven  with  gold. 
and  he  held  a  branch  of  laurel  in  his  right  hand. 
The  whole  army  likewise  carried  boughs  of  lau- 
rel, and  divided  into  bands  and  companies,  fol- 
lowed the  general's  chariot.  Some  sang  satirical 
songs  usual  on  such  occasions,  and  some  chanted 
odes  of  victory. 

He  died  b.c.  ico,  having  attained  to  every- 
thing that  is  supposed  to  contribute  to  the  hap- 
piness of  man. 


PELOPIDAS. 

Note. — Pelopidas  (Theban).  After  the  return  of 
Pelopidas  as  ambassador  to  the  court  of  Persia,  he 
assumed  command  of  the  forces  sent  to  the  relief 
of  Thessaly,  and,  as  stated  by  Plutarch,  was  slain 
in  battle  b.c.  364. 

Pelopidas,  the  son  of  Hippoclus,  was  of  an  illus- 
trious family  of  Thebes.  Brought  up  in  affluence, 
and  coming  in  his  youth  to  a  great  estate,  he  ap- 
plied himself  to  relieve  such  necessitous  persons 
as  deserved  his  bounty,  to  show  that  he  was  really 
master,  not  the  slave,  of  his  riches. 

Pelopidas  married  into  a  noble  family,  and  had 
several   children ;    but   setting   no  greater  value 


78  the  youth's 

upon  money  than  before,  and  devoting  all  his 
time  to  the  concerns  of  the  commonwealth,  he 
impaired  his  substance  ;  and  when  his  friends  ad- 
monished him,  that  money,  which  he  neglected, 
was  a  very  necessary  thing, — "It  is  necessary, 
indeed, "  said  he,  "  for  Nicodemus,  there, "  pointing 
to  a  man  that  was  both  lame  and  blind. 

Epaminondas  and  he  were  both  equally  inclined 
to  every  virtue,  but  Pelopidas  delighted  more  in 
the  exercises  of  the  body,  and  Epaminondas  in 
the  improvement  of  the  mind.  The  one  diverted 
himself  in  the  wrestling  ring  or  in  hunting,  while 
the  other  spent  his  hours  of  leisure  in  hearing  or 
reading  philosophy.  Among  the  many  things 
that  reflected  glory  upon  both,  there  was  nothing 
which  men  of  sense  so  much  admired  as  that  strict 
and  inviolable  friendship  which  existed  between 
them  from  first  to  last,  in  all  the  high  posts  which 
they  held,  both  military  and  civil. 

In  conjunction  with  Epaminondas  he  won  a 
splendid  victory  at  Leuctra,  and  the  two  friends 
were  thereupon  appointed  joint  governors  of  Bce- 
otia.  They  drove  the  Spartans  out  of  Messenia, 
and  re-established  the  ancient  inhabitants.  Pe- 
lopidas was  then  sent  to  Macedonia  as  arbitrator 
between  Alexander  and  Ptolemy,  and  afterwards 
went  as  ambassador  to  the  Persian  Court,  where 
he  was  highly  honored  by  Artaxerxes.  He  was 
killed  in  battle  B.C.  364. 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  79 


MARCELLUS. 

Note. — Marcellus  (Roman) .  Marcellus  was  the  name 
of  several  noble  Roman  families.  The  striking 
death  of  Marcus  Claudius  Marcellus,  as  described 
by  Plutarch,  took  place  B.C.  208. 

Marcus  Claudius  Marcellus,  who  was  five  times 
consul,  was  the  son  of  Marcus,  and  the  first  of 
his  family  that  bore  the  surname  of  Marcellus, 
that  is,  Martial.  He  had,  indeed,  a  great  deal 
of  military  experience  ;  his  body  was  strong,  his 
arm  almost  irresistible,  and  he  was  naturally  in- 
clined to  war.  But  though  impetuous  and  lofty 
in  combat,  on  other  occasions  he  was  modest  and 
humane.  He  was  so  far  a  lover  of  the  Grecian 
learning  and  eloquence  as  to  honor  and  admire 
those  that  excelled  therein,  though  his  employ- 
ments prevented  his  making  that  progress  in  them 
which  he  desired. 

The  account  of  the  siege  of  Syracuse  is  full  of 
interest.  Marcellus  made  his  attacks  both  by  sea 
and  land, — Appius  Claudius  commanding  the  land 
forces,  and  himself  the  fleet,  which  consisted  of 
sixty  galleys,  of  five  banks  of  oars,  full  of  all 
sorts  of  arms  and  missile  weapons.  Besides 
these,  he  had  a  prodigious  machine,  carried  upon 
eight  galleys  fastened  together,  with  which  he 
approached  the  walls,  relying  upon  the  number 
of  his  batteries  and  other  instruments  of  war,  as 
well  as  on  his  own  great  character.  But  Archim- 
edes, the  philosopher,  despised  all  this,  and 
confided   in   the   superiority  of  his  engines.     He 


80  THE    YOUTH'S 

made  for  King  Hiero  all  manner  of  engines  and 
machines  which  could  be  used  either  for  attack  or 
defence  in  a  siege.  They  were  extremely  service- 
able to  the  Syracusans  on  the  present  occasion, 
who,  with  such  a  number  of  machines,  had  the 
advantage  of  their  being  directed  by  the  inventor. 
When  the  Romans  attacked  them,  both  by  sea 
and  land,  they  were  struck  dumb  with  terror, 
imagining  they  could  not  possibly  resist  such  nu- 
merous forces  and  so  furious  an  assault.  But 
Archimedes  soon  began  to  play  his  engines,  and 
the)'  shot  against  the  land  forces  all  sorts  of  mis- 
siles, weapons,  and  stones  of  an  enormous  size, 
with  so  incredible  a  noise  and  rapidity,  that  noth- 
ing could  stand  before  them  ;  they  overturned  and 
crushed  whatever  came  in  their  way,  and  spread 
terrible  disorder  throughout  the  ranks.  On  the 
side  toward  the  sea  were  erected  vast  machines, 
shooting  forth  on  a  sudden,  over  the  walls,  huge 
beams  with  the  necessary  tackle,  which  striking 
with  a  prodigious  force  on  the  enemy's  galleys, 
sank  them  at  once ;  while  other  ships,  hoisted  up 
at  the  prows  by  iron  grapples  or  hooks,  like  the 
beaks  of  cranes,  and  set  on  end,  were  plunged  to 
the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Others,  again,  by  ropes 
and  graplines,  were  drawn  toward  the  shore, 
and  after  being  whirled  about,  and  dashed  against 
the  rocks  that  projected  below  the  walls,  were 
broken  to  pieces,  and  the  crews  perished.  Very 
often  a  ship,  lifted  high  above  the  sea,  suspended 
and  twirling  in  the  air,  presented  a  most  dreadful 
spectacle.     There    it    swung   till   the   men   were 


plutarch's  lives.  8i 

thrown  out  by  the  violence  of  the  motion,  and 
then  it  split  against  the  walls,  or  sank  on  the  en- 
gine's letting  go  its  hold.  As  for  the  machine 
which  Marcellus  brought  forward  upon  eight  gal- 
leys, and  which  was  called  "Sambuca,"  on  account 
of  its  likeness  to  the  musical  instrument  of  that 
name,  whilst  it  was  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  walls,  Archimedes  discharged  a  stone  of 
ten  talents  weight,  and  after  that  a  second  and 
a  third,  all  which  striking  upon  it  with  an  amaz- 
ing noise  and  force,  shattered  and  totally  dis- 
jointed it. 

Marcellus,  in  this  distress,  drew  off  his  galleys 
as  fast  as  possible,  and  likewise  sent  orders  to  the 
land  forces  to  retreat.  He  then  called  a  council 
of  war,  in  which  it  was  resolved  to  come  close  to 
the  walls,  if  it  were  possible,  next  morning  before 
day;  for  Archimedes'  engines,  they  thought, 
being  very  strong,  and  intended  to  act  at  a  con- 
siderable distance,  would  then  discharge  the  mis- 
siles over  their  heads,  and  if  they  were  pointed  at 
them  when  they  were  so  near  they  would  have  no 
effect.  But  for  this  Archimedes  had  long  been 
prepared,  having  by  him  engines  fitted  to  all  dis- 
tances, with  suitable  weapons  and  shorter  beams. 
Besides,  he  had  caused  holes  to  be  made  in  the 
walls,  in  which  he  placed  scorpions  that  did  not 
carry  far,*but  could  be  discharged  very  fast ;  and 
by  these  the  enemy  was  galled,  without  knowing 
whence  the  missile  came. 

When,  therefore,  the  Romans  were  got  close  to 
the  walls,  undiscovered,  as  they  thought,  they 
6 


52  THE    YOUTH  S 

were  welcomed  with  a  shower  of  darts  and  huge 
pieces  of  rocks,  which  fell,  as  it  were,  perpen- 
dicularly upon  their  heads  ;  for  the  engines  played 
from  every  quarter  of  the  walls.  This  obliged 
them  to  retire  ;  and  when  they  were  at  some  dis- 
tance, other  shafts  were  shot  at  them  in  their  re- 
treat from  the  larger  machines,  which  made  ter- 
rible havoc  among  them,  as  well  as  greatly  dam- 
aged their, shipping.  Archimedes  had  placed 
most  of  his  engines  under  cover  of  the  walls,  so 
that  the  Romans,  being  infinitely  distressed  by 
an  invisible  enemy,  seemed  to  fight  against  the 
gods. 

Marcellus,  however,  got  off  and  laughed  at  his 
own  artillerymen  and  engineers,  saying, — "Why 
do  we  not  leave  off  contending  with  this  mathe- 
matical Briareus,  who,  sitting  on  the  shore,  and 
acting  as  it  were  but  in  jest,  has  shamefully 
baffled  our  naval  assault ;  and,  in  striking  us 
with  such  a  multitude  of  bolts  at  once,  exceeds 
even  the  hundred-handed  giants  in  the  fable?" 
At  last,  the  Romans  were  so  terrified  that  if  they 
saw  but  a  rope  or  a  stick  put  over  the  walls,  they 
cried  out  that  Archimedes  was  leveling  some  ma- 
chine at  them,  and  turned  their  backs  and  fled. 
Marcellus  seeing  this,  gave  up  all  thoughts  of 
proceeding  by  assault,  and  leaving  the  matter  to 
time,  turned  the  siege  into  a  blockade. 

When  at  last  the  city  was  taken,  Archimedes 
was  found  in  his  study  engaged  in  some  mathe- 
matical researches.  His  mind  as  well  as  his  eye 
was  so  intent  upon  his  diagram  that  he  neither 


plutarch's  lives.  83 

heard  the  tumultuous  noise  of  the  Romans  nor 
perceived  that  the  city  was  taken.  A  soldier  sud- 
denly entered  his  room,  and  ordered  him  to  follow 
him  to  Marcellus ;  and  Archimedes  refusing  to  do 
it  till  he  had  finished  his  problem  and  brought  his 
demonstration  to  bear,  the  soldier,  in  a  passion, 
drew  his  sword  and  killed  him.  Marcellus  was 
much  concerned  at  his  death,  and  bestowed  many 
favors  on  his  relatives. 

A  subsequent  battle  with  Hannibal  is  thus  de- 
scribed : — Both  armies  then  engaged ;  and  Han- 
nibal, seeing  no  advantage  gained  by  either,  or- 
dered his  elephants  to  be  brought  forward  into 
the  first  line,  and  to  be  pushed  against  the  Ro- 
mans. The  shock  caused  great  confusion  at  first 
in  the  Roman  front ;  but  Flavius,  a  tribune, 
snatching  an  ensign-staff  from  one  of  the  com- 
panies, advanced,  and  with  the  point  of  it 
wounded  the  foremost  elephant.  The  beast 
upon  this  turned  back,  and  ran  upon  the  second, 
the  second  upon  the  next  that  followed,  and  so  on 
till  they  were  all  put  in  great  disorder.  Marcellus 
observing  this,  ordered  his  horse  to  fall  furiously 
upon  the  enemy,  and,  taking  advantage  of  the 
confusion  already  made,  to  rout  them  entirely. 
Accordingly,  they  charged  with  extraordinary 
vigor,  and  drove  the  Carthaginians  to  their  en- 
trenchments. The  slaughter  was  dreadful ;  and 
the  fall  of  the  killed,  and  the  plunging  of  the 
wounded  elephants,  contributed  greatly  to  it.  It 
is  said  that  more  than  eight  thousand  Cartha- 
ginians fell  in  this  battle ;  of  the  Romans  not 


84  the  youth's 

above  three  thousand  were  slain,  but  almost  all 
the  rest  were  wounded. 

In  a  later  battle  Hannibal  was  successful,  and 
Marcellus  was  caught  in  an  ambuscade  and  killed. 
Hannibal,  when  he  knew  that  Marcellus  was  dead, 
hastened  to  the  place,  and,  standing  over  the 
body  a  long  time,  surveyed  its  size  and  mien,  but 
without  speaking  one  insulting  word,  or  showing 
the  least  sign  of  joy,  which  might  have  been  ex- 
pected at  the  fall  of  so  dangerous  and  formidable 
an  enemy.  At  last,  taking  his  signet  from  his 
finger,  he  caused  the  body  to  be  magnificently 
attired  and  burned,  and  the  ashes  to  be  put  in 
a  silver  urn,  and  then  placed  a  crown  of  gold 
upon  it. 

ARISTIDES. 

Note. — Aristides  (Athenian).  This  famous  Athenian 
flourished  in  the  fifth  century  B.C.  He  was  twice 
banished,  and  died  in  poverty  and  exile  B.C.  467. 

Aristides  was  an  Athenian  general,  son  of  Ly- 
simachus.  Of  all  the  virtues  of  Aristides,  the 
people  were  most  struck  with  his  justice.  Thus 
he,  though  a  poor  man  and  a  commoner,  gained 
the  royal  and  divine  title  of  "The  Just,"  which 
kings  and  tyrants  have  never  been  fond  of.  It 
has  been  their  ambition  to  be  styled  "  Takers  of 
cities,"  "Thunderbolts,"  or  "Conquerors."  Nay, 
some  have  chosen  to  be  called  "Eagles"  and 
"Vultures,  "  preferring  the  fame  of  power  to  that 
of  virtue. 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  85 

Aristides  at  first  was  loved  and  respected  for 
his  surname  of  "  The  Just, "  and  afterwards  envied 
as  much ;  the  latter,  chiefly  by  the  management 
of  Themistocles,  who  gave  it  out  among  the  peo- 
ple that  Aristides  had  abolished  the  courts  of  judi- 
cature by  drawing  the  arbitration  of  all  causes  to 
himself,  and  so  was  insensibly  gaining  sovereign 
power.  The  people,  uneasy  at  finding  any  one 
citizen  rising  to  such  extraordinary  honor  and 
distinction,  assembled  at  Athens  from  all  the 
towns  in  Attica,  and  banished  Aristides  by  the 
Ostracism — disguising  their  envy  of  his  char- 
acter under  the  specious  pretence  of  guarding 
against  tyranny. 

The  Ostracism  was  conducted  in  the  following 
manner  : — Every  citizen  took  a  piece  of  a  broken 
pot,  or  a  shell,  on  which  he  wrote  the  name  of  the 
person  he  wished  to  have  banished,  and  carried  it 
to  a  part  of  the  market-place  that  was  inclosed 
with  wooden  rails.  The  magistrates  then  counted 
the  number  of  the  shells,  and  if  it  amounted  not 
to  six  thousand,  the  Ostracism  stood  for  nothing ; 
if  it  did,  they  sorted  the  shells,  and  the  person 
whose  name  was  found  on  the  greatest  number 
was  declared  an  exile  for  ten  years,  but  with  per- 
mission to  enjoy  his  estate.  At  the  time  that 
Aristides  was  banished,  when  the  people  were  in- 
scribing the  names  on  the  shells,  it  is  reported 
that  an  illiterate  burgher  came  to  Aristides  whom 
he  took  for  some  ordinary  person,  and  giving  him 
his  shell,  desired  him  to  write"  Aristides"  upon  it. 
The  good  man,  surprised  at  the  adventure,  asked 


86  the  youth's 

him, — "Whether  Aristides  had  ever  injured  him?" 
"No,"  said  he  ;  "nor  do  I  even  know  him  ;  but  it 
vexes  me  to  hear  him  everywhere  called  '  The 
Just.'"  Aristides  made  no  answer,  but  took  the 
shell,  and  having  written  his  own  name  upon  it, 
returned  it.  He  was  banished  for  ten  years :  but 
after  three  years,  when  Xerxes  was  marching 
through  Thessaly  and  Bceotia  to  Attica,  the  Athe- 
nians recalled  Aristides. 

As  to  his  death,  some  say  it  happened  in  Pon- 
tus,  others  that  he  died  at  Athens,  full  of  days, 
honored  and  admired  by  his  fellow-citizens. 


CATO,    THE   CENSOR. 

Note— Cato  the  Censor  (Roman) .  The  date  of 
Cato's  birth  was  b.c.  234.  He  well  deserved  the 
name  of  Wise.  He  was  elected  consul  in  b.c.  195, 
and  completed  his  brilliant  military  career  at 
Thermopylae.  His  election  to  the  censorship  took 
place  b.c  184.  When  he  died,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
five,  he  left  one  hundred  and  fifty  orations  which 
are  greatly  admired. 

Porcius  Cato  was  born  at  Tusculum.  Inured 
to  labor  and  temperance,  and  brought  up  in 
camps,  he  had  an  excellent  constitution,  and  was 
healthy  and  strong.  He  studied  eloquence,  be- 
cause he  considered  it  not  only  useful  but  neces- 
sary for  every  man  who  does  not  wish  to  live  an 
obscure,  inactive  life.  He  was  soon  considered  an 
able  pleader  and  a  good  orator.  He  was  not  only 
so  disinterested  as  to  plead  without  fee  or  re- 
ward, but  it  appears  that  honor  was  his  principal 


plutarch's  lives.  87 

aim.  But  the  height  of  his  ambition  was  to  be 
great  in  military  matters.  When  he  was  but  a 
youth  he  had  fought  in  so  many  battles  that  his 
breast  was  covered  with  scars.  In  battle  he  stood 
firm,  had  a  fierce  look,  and  spoke  to  his  enemy  in 
a  threatening  and  dreadful  accent.  He  judged 
that  such  behavior  often  strikes  an  adversary  with 
greater  terror  than  the  sword  itself.  He  always 
marched  on  foot,  carried  his  own  weapons,  and 
was  attended  by  one  servant  only,  who  carried 
provisions.  All  the  time  he  was  in  the  army  he 
usually  drank  nothing  but  water ;  but  when  al- 
most burnt  up  with  thirst  he  would  ask  for  a  little 
vinegar,  or  when  his  strength  was  exhausted  he 
took  a  little  wine.  A  nobleman  of  great  power 
and  eminence,  named  Valerius  Flaccus,  was  so 
charmed  with  Cato's  character  that  he  encouraged 
him  to  go  to  Rome  and  apply  himself  to  affairs  of 
State.  There  he  took  Fabius  Maximus  as  his 
example,  and  was  the  opponent  of  Scipio.  He 
soon  gained  so  much  influence  and  authority  by 
his  eloquence  that  he  was  commonly  called  the 
Roman  Demosthenes  ;  but  he  was  still  more  cele- 
brated for  his  frugal  manner  of  living.  He  has 
stated  himself  that  he  thought  nothing  cheap  that 
was  superfluous  ;  that  what  a  man  has  no  need  of  is 
dear  even  at  a  penny  ;  and  that  it  is  much  better 
to  have  fields  where  the  plow  goes  or  cattle 
feed,  than  fine  gardens  and  walks  that  require 
much  watering  and  sweeping.  It  was  a  saying 
of  his,  "That  wise  men  learn  more  from  fools 
than  fools  from  the  wise ;  for  the  wise  avoid  the 


88  the  youth's 

errors  of  fools,  while  fools  do  not  profit  by  the  ex- 
ample of  the  wise. "  Another  of  his  sayings  was, 
"That  he  liked  a  young  man  that  blushed  more 
than  one  that  turned  pale ;  and  that  he  did  not 
like  a  soldier  who  moved  his  hands  in  marching, 
and  his  feet  in  fighting,  and  who  snored  louder 
in  bed  than  he  shouted  in  battle. " 

He  was  a  good  father,  a  good  husband,  and  an 
excellent  economist.  He  chose  his  wife  rather 
for  her  family  than  her  fortune ;  persuaded  that 
though  both  the  rich  and  the  high-born  have  their 
pride,  yet  women  of  good  families  are  more 
ashamed  of  any  base  and  unworthy  action,  and 
more  obedient  to  their  husbands  in  everything 
that  is  good  and  honorable.  When  he  had  a  son 
born,  no  business,  however  urgent,  except  public 
affairs,  could  hinder  him  from  being  present  while 
his  wife  washed  and  swaddled  the  infant ;  for  she 
suckled  it  herself.  Nay,  she  often  gave  the  breast 
to  the  sons  of  her  servants,  to  inspire  them  with 
a  brotherly  regard  for  her  own.  As  soon  as 
the  dawn  of  understanding  appeared,  Cato  took 
upon  him  the  office  of  schoolmaster  to  his  son, 
though  he  had  a  servant  who  was  a  good  gram- 
marian, and  taught  several  other  children.  But 
he  tells  us  he  did  not  choose  that  his  son  should 
be  reprimanded  by  a  slave,  or  pulled  by  the  ears 
if  he  happened  to  be  slow  in  learning,  or  that  he 
should  be  indebted  to  so  mean  a  person  for  his 
education.  He  was,  therefore,  himself  his  pre- 
ceptor in  grammar,  in  law,  and  in  the  necessary 
exercises ;    for  he  taught  him  not  only  how  to 


plutarch's  lives.  89 

throw  a  dart,  to  fight  hand-to-hand,  and  to  ride, 
but  to  box,  to  endure  heat  and  cold,  and  to  swim 
the  most  rapid  rivers. 

He  wrote  a  book  concerning  country  affairs,  in 
which,  among  other  things,  he  gives  rules  for 
making  cakes  and  preserving  fruit ;  for  he  was 
desirous  to  be  thought  curious  and  particular  in 
everything.  He  kept  a  better  table  in  the  coun- 
try than  in  the  town  ;  for  he  always  invited  some 
of  his  acquaintances  in  the  neighborhood  to  sup 
with  him.  With  these  he  passed  the  time  in 
cheerful  conversation,  making  himself  agreeable 
not  only  to  those  of  his  own  age,  but  to  the  young. 
He  looked  upon  the  table  as  one  of  the  best  means 
of  forming  friendships ;  and  at  his  the  conversa- 
tion generally  turned  upon  the  praises  of  great 
and  excellent  men  among  the  Romans.  As  for 
the  bad  and  the  unworthy,  no  mention  was  made 
of  them  ;  for  he  would  not  allow  in  his  company 
one  word,  either  good  or  bad,  to  be  said  of  such 
men. 

The  last  service  he  is  said  to  have  done  the  pub- 
lic was  the  destruction  of  Carthage.  The  younger 
Scipio,  indeed,  gave  the  finishing  stroke  to  that 
work,  but  it  was  undertaken  chiefly  by  the  advice 
and  at  the  instance  of  Cato. 


90  THE    YOUTH  S 


PHILOPCEMEN. 

Note. — Philopcemen  (Greek).  Philopoemen,  called 
the  last  of  the  Greeks,  was  born  in  Arcadia,  b.c. 
252.  His  death  by  poison,  when  a  prisoner  of  the 
Messenians,  took  place  b.c.  183. 

Philopcemen,  from  a  child,  was  fond  of  every- 
thing military,  and  readily  entered  into  the  exer^ 
cises  which  tended  to  that  purpose  ;  those  of  rid- 
ing, for  instance,  and  handling  of  weapons.  As 
he  seemed  well  formed  for  wrestling,  too,  his 
friends  and  governors  advised  him  to  improve 
himself  in  that  art ;  which  gave  him  occasion  to 
ask  whether  that  might  be  consistent  with  his 
proficiency  as  a  soldier  ?  They  told  him  the  truth  ; 
that  the  habit  of  body  and  manner  of  life,  the  diet 
and  exercise,  of  a  soldier  and  a  wrestler,  were  en- 
tirely different ;  that  the  wrestler  must  have  much 
sleep  and  full  meals,  stated  times  of  exercise  and 
rest,  every  little  departure  from  his  rules  being 
very  prejudicial  to  him ;  whereas  the  soldier 
should  be  prepared  for  the  most  irregular  changes 
of  living,  and  should  chiefly  endeavor  to  bring 
himself  to  bear  the  want  of  food  and  sleep  without 
difficulty.  Philopcemen,  hearing  this,  not  only 
avoided  and  derided  the  exercise  of  wrestling 
himself,  but  afterward,  when  he  came  to  be  gen- 
eral, to  the  utmost  of  his  power  exploded  the 
whole  art,  by  every  mark  of  disgrace  and  expres- 
sion of  contempt, — satisfied  that  it  rendered  per- 
sons who  were  the  most  fit  for  war  quite  useless 
and  unable  to  fight  on  necessary  occasions. 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  91 

His  leisure  he  spent  either  in  the  chase,  which 
increased  both  his  strength  and  activity,  or  in 
the  tillage  of  the  field.  For  he  had  a  handsome 
estate,  twenty  furlongs  from  the  city,  to  which  he 
went  every  day  after  dinner,  or  after  supper  ;  and 
at  night  he  threw  himself  upon  an  ordinary  mat- 
tress and  slept  as  one  of  the  laborers.  Early  in 
the  morning  he  rose  and  went  to  work  along  with 
his  vine-dressers  or  plowmen ;  after  which  he 
returned  to  the  town,  and  employed  his  time 
about  the  public  affairs  with  his  friends,  and  with 
the  magistrates.  What  he  gained  in  the  wars  he 
laid  out  upon  horses  or  arms,  or  in  redeeming 
captives.  He  was  elected  general  of  the  Achse- 
ans  the  eighth  time  when  he  was  seventy  years  of 
age,  and  he  did  not  then  think  himself  too  old  to 
command  an  army.  He  marched  against  the 
Messenians,  but  was  captured  and  poisoned. 


TITUS    QUINCTIUS   FLAMINIUS. 

Note.—  Titus  Quinctius  Flaminius  (Roman).  This. 
Roman  general  was  made  consul  B.C.  198.  His  de- 
feat of  Philip  at  Cynoscephalae,  B.C.  197,  termin- 
ated the  Macedonian  war.  He  went  to  Prusias, 
king  of  Bythnia,  in  B.C.  183  to  demand  the  surren- 
der of  Hannibal  who  had  taken  refuge  at  the  court. 
The  death  of  Flaminius  took  place  about  b.c.  175. 

This  celebrated  Roman  general  was,  from  his 
youth,  trained  to  the  profession  of  arms.  His 
early  successes  in  the  wars  inspired  him  with 
such  lofty  thoughts  that,  overlooking  the  ordi- 
nary previous  steps  by  which  young  men  ascend, 


92  THE    YOUTH'S 

I  mean  the  offices  of  tribune,  praetor,  and  sedile, 
he  aimed  directly  at  the  consulship.  But  the  trib- 
unes, Fulvius  and  Manlius,  opposed  him,  insist- 
ing that  is  was  a  strange  and  unheard-of  thing 
for  a  man  so  young,  who  was  not  yet  initiated  in 
the  first  mysteries  of  government,  to  intrude  in 
contempt  of  the  laws,  into  the  highest  office  in  the 
State.  The  senate  referred  the  affair  to  the  suf- 
frages of  the  people  ;  and  the  people  elected  him 
Consul,  though  he  was  not  yet  thirty  years  old. 

Flaminius  was  successful  in  setting  Greece  free, 
and  greatly  prided  himself  in  having  done  so. 
He  dedicated  some  silver  bucklers,  together  with 
his  own  shield,  at  Delphi ;  he  put  upon  them  the 
following  inscription  : — 

"  Ye  Spartan  twins,  who  tamed  the  foaming  steed, 
Ye  friends,  ye  patrons  of  each  glorious  deed, 
Behold  Flaminius,  of  JEneas'  line, 
Presents  this  offering  at  your  awful  shrine. 
Ye  sons  of  love,  your  generous  paths  he  trod, 
And  snatched  from  Greece  each  little  tyrant's  rod." 

He  offered  also  to  Apollo  a  golden  crown,  with 
verses  inscribed  on  it. 

Hannibal  was  seventy  years  old  when  he  was 
defeated  at  Zama  by  Scipio.  Flaminius  provoked 
him  to  destroy  himself.  Some  say  Hannibal 
wound  his  cloak  about  his  neck  and  ordered  his 
servant  to  put  his  knees  upon  his  back,  and  pull 
with  all  his  force,  and  not  to  leave  off  twisting  till 
he  had  quite  strangled  him.  Others  tell  us  that, 
like  Themistocles  and  Midas,  he  drank  bull's 
blood.     But  Livy  writes,  that,  having  poison  in 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  93 

readiness,  he  mixed  it  for  a  draught,  and  taking 
the  cup  in  his  hand,  said, — "Let  me  deliver  the 
Romans  from  their  cares  and  anxieties,  since  they 
think  it  too  tedious  and  dangerous  to  wait  for  the 
death  of  a  poor  hated  old  man.  Yet  shall  not 
Titus  gain  a  conquest  worth  envying,  or  suitable 
to  tbe  generous  proceedings  of  his  ancestors." 
Thus  Hannibal  is  said  to  have  died.  When  the 
news  was  brought  to  the  senate,  many  in  that  au- 
gust body  were  highly  displeased.  Flaminius  ap- 
peared too  officious  and  cruel  in  his  precautions  to 
procure  the  death  of  Hannibal,  now  tamed  by  his 
misfortunes,  like  a  bird,  that,  through  age,  had 
lost  its  tail  and  feathers,  and  suffered  to  live  so ; 
and,  as  he  had  no  orders  to  put  him  to  death,  it 
was  plain  that  he  did  it  out  of  a  passion  for  fame, 
and  to  be  mentioned  in  after-times  as  the  destroyer 
of  Hannibal. 


PYRRHUS. 

Note.— Pyrrhus  (Greek).  Pyrrhus  ascended  his 
father's  throne  295  b.c.  He  made  war  on  the 
Romans  fourteen  years  later  and  was  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  generals  of  the  age  in  which  he 
lived.  The  particulars  of  his  death  are  given  in 
the  following  sketch. 

Pyrrhus  was  a  renowned  king  of  Epirus,  who 
was  descended  from  Hercules  on  his  father's  side, 
and  from  Achilles  on  his  mother's.  On  the  ban- 
ishment of  his  father  ^Eacides  he  was  taken  to  the 
court  of  Glaucias,King  of  Illyricum,  who  brought 
him   up,  and   succeeded   in   putting   him   on   the 


94  THE    YOUTH  S 

throne  of  Epirus  when  he  was  quite  a  youth. 
P)Trhus  is  described  as  having  an  air  of  majesty 
rather  terrible  than  august.  Instead  of  teeth  in 
his  upper  jaw  he  had  one  continued  bone,  marked 
with  small  lines,  resembling  the  divisions  of  a 
row  of  teeth.  He  was  believed  to  have  the  power 
of  curing  the  spleen,  and  it  is  asserted  that  this 
miraculous  power  was  seated  in  the  great  toe  of 
the  right  foot,  for  after  his  death,  when  his  body 
was  consumed  by  the  fire,  the  toe  was  found  un- 
touched by  the  flames. 

Neoptolemus  succeeded  in  usurping  the  throne 
when  Pyrrhus  was  about  nineteen  years  old,  but 
after  a  good  deal  of  fighting  he  regained  his  king- 
dom. He  then  gladly  accepted  the  invitation  of 
the  Tarentines  to  help  them  against  the  Romans. 
In  his  first  battle  with  them  his  elephants  obtained 
him  the  victory,  for  the  Romans  were  frightened  at 
their  bulk  and  ferocity.  The  number  of  slain  was 
so  nearly  equal  on  both  sides  that,  though  Pyr- 
rhus was  conqueror,  he  uttered  the  memorable 
saying,  "Another  such  victory  and  we  are  un- 
done." He  next  went  against  the  Carthaginians, 
and  obtained  two  victories  and  took  many  towns. 
He  then  renewed  hostilities  against  the  Romans 
at  Tarentum,  and  was  defeated  by  Curius.  He 
left  Italy  much  mortified  that  one  of  the  descend- 
ants of  Achilles  should  have  been  thus  defeated. 
In  Epirus  he  sought  to  regain  his  military  re- 
nown, and  began  by  attacking  Antigonus,  whom 
he  conquered,  and  was  once  more  raised  to  the 
throne  of  Macedonia.     He    afterward    marched 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  95 

against  Sparta,  but  was  compelled  to  retreat  to 
Argos.  It  was  in  this  town  that  he  met  his  death. 
His  army  reached  the  city  at  night,  and  got  as 
far  as  the  market-place,  when  it  was  found  that 
the  gate  was  not  high  enough  to  allow  the  ele- 
phants to  pass  under,  and  it  was  necessary  to  take 
off  their  towers.  When  the  animals  had  passed 
through  their  towers  were  put  on  again.  This 
took  so  much  time  that  the  citizens  were  aroused, 
and  ran  to  the  fort  for  safety.  Meantime,  the 
town  was  filled  with  soldiers,  friends,  and  foes. 
Pyrrhus  entered,  and  was  welcomed  by  loud 
shouts.  He  pushed  forward  his  cavalry,  though 
they  marched  in  danger  from  the  number  of 
drains  and  sewers  of  which  the  city  was  full.  Be- 
sides, in  this  nocturnal  engagement  it  was  impos- 
sible either  to  see  what  was  done,  or  hear  the  or- 
ders that  were  given.  The  soldiers  lost  their  way 
in  the  narrow  streets,  and  the  officers  could  not 
rally  them,  and  daylight  was  anxiously  waited 
for.  At  the  first  dawn,  Pyrrhus  was  concerned 
to  see  the  A-spis,  or  citadel,  full  of  armed  men  ; 
but  his  concern  was  changed  into  consternation 
when,  amongst  the  statuary  in  the  market-place, 
he  saw  a  wolf  and  a  bull  in  brass  represented  in 
the  act  of  fighting ;  for  he  recollected  an  oracle 
which  had  foretold  "that  it  was  his  destiny  to  die 
when  he  should  see  a  wolf  encountering  a  bull." 

Pyrrhus,  quite  dispirited  at  the  sight,  and  per- 
ceiving at  the  same  time  that  nothing  succeeded 
according  to  his  hopes,  thought  it  best  to  retreat. 
Fearing  that  the  gates  were  too  narrow,  he  sent 


96  the  youth's 

orders  to  his  son  Helenus,  who  was  left  with  the 
main  body  outside  the  town,  to  demolish  part  of 
the  wall,  and  assist  the  retreat  if  the  enemy  tried 
to  obstruct  it.  But  the  person  whom  he  sent,  mis- 
taking the  order  in  the  hurry  and  tumult,  and  de- 
livering it  quite  in  a  contrary  sense,  the  young 
prince  entered  the  gates  with  the  rest  of  the  ele- 
phants and  the  best  of  his  troops,  and  marched  to 
assist  his  father.  Pyrrhus  was  now  retiring,  and 
while  the  market-place  afforded  room  both  to  re- 
treat and  fight,  he  often  faced  about  and  repulsed 
the  assailants.  But  when  from  that  broad  place 
he  came  to  crowd  into  the  narrow  street  leading 
to  the  gate,  he  fell  in  with  those  who  were  advanc- 
ing to  his  assistance.  It  was  in  vain  to  call  out 
to  them  to  fall  back ;  there  were  but  few  that 
could  hear  him  ;  and  such  as  did  hear,  and  were 
most  disposed  to  obey  his  orders,  were  pushed 
back  by  those  who  came  pouring  in  behind.  Be- 
sides, the  largest  of  the  elephants  had  fallen  down 
in  the  gateway,  and  lying  there  and  braying  in  a 
horrible  maimer,  it  stopped  those  who  would  have 
got  out.  And  among  the  elephants  already  in  the 
town,  one  named  Nicon,  striving  to  take  up  his 
master  who  was  fallen  off  wounded,  rushed 
against  the  party  that  was  retreating,  and  over- 
turned both  friends  and  enemies  promiscuously 
till  he  found  the  body,  when  he  took  it  up  with 
his  trunk,  and,  carrying  it  on  his  tusks,  returned 
in  great  fury,  and  trod  down  all  before  him. 
When  they  were  thus  pressing  and  crowded  to- 
gether, not  a  man  could  do  anything  singly ;  but 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  97 

the  whole  multitude,  like  one  close  compact  body, 
rolled  this  way  and  that  all  together.  They  ex- 
changed but  few  blows  with  the  enemy  either  in 
front  or  rear,  and  the  greatest  harm  they  did  was 
to  themselves  ;  for  if  any  man  drew  his  sword  or 
leveled  his  pike,  he  could  not  recover  the  one  or 
put  up  the  other  ;  the  next  person,  therefore,  who- 
ever he  happened  to  be,  was  necessarily  wounded, 
and  thus  many  of  them  fell  by  the  hands  of  each 
other. 

Pyrrhus,  seeing  the  tempest  rolling  around 
him,  took  off  the  plume  with  which  his  helmet 
was  distinguished,  and  gave  it  to  one  of  his 
friends ;  then,  trusting  to  the  goodness  of  his 
horse,  he  rode  in  amongst  the  enemy  who  were 
harassing  his  rear,  and  it  happened  that  he  was 
wounded  through  the  breast-plate  with  a  javelin. 
The  wound  was  rather  slight  than  dangerous,  but 
he  turned  against  the  man  that  gave  it,  who  was 
an  Argive  of  no  note.,  the  son  of  a  poor  old  wo- 
man. This  woman  among  others,  looking  at  the 
fight  from  the  roof  of  a  house,  beheld  her  son  thus 
engaged.  Seized  with  terror  at  the  sight,  she 
took  up  a  large  tile  with  both  her  hands,  and 
threw  it  at  Pyrrhus.  The  tile  fell  upon  his  head, 
and,  notwithstanding  his  helmet,  crushed  the 
lower  vertebrae  of  his  neck.  Darkness  in  a  mo- 
ment covered  his  eyes,  his  hands  let  go  the  reins, 
and  he  fell  from  his  horse  by  the  tomb  of  Licym- 
nius.  His  head  was  cut  off  and  carried  to  An- 
tigonus  b.c.  272. 

Pyrrhus  has  been  greatly  extolled  as  a  general, 
7 


98  THE    YOUTH'S 

not  only  by  his  friends  but  also  by  his  enemies. 
The  Romans  praised  him  greatly,  and  he  is  stated 
to  have  said  that  if  he  had  soldiers  like  the  Ro- 
mans he  would  have  conquered  all  the  nations  of 
the  world. 


CAIUS   MARIUS. 

Note. — Caius  Marius  (Roman).  Caius  Marius  was 
born  about  B.C.  157,  probably  at  Cerretinum. 
Having  entered  the  army  he  became  known  to 
Scipio  Africanus.  His  great  success  caused  him 
to  be  hailed  "The  Third  Founder  of  Rome,"  and 
he  was  rewarded  with  a  fifth  consulate,  followed 
by  a  sixth.  He  afterward  became  infamous  be- 
cause of  his  bloody  prosecutions.  While  Consul 
for  the  seventh  time,  he  died,  as  it  is  believed, 
from  excessive  indulgence  in  wine. 

We  know  of  no  third  name  of  Caius  Marius. 
Like  some  other  Roman  generals  he  was  of  poor 
parentage ;  but,  forsaking  the  plow  for  the 
sword,  he  soon-  signalized  himself  as  a  soldier, 
under  Scipio,  at  the  siege  of  Numantia.  He  was 
elected  Consul,  and  appointed  to  carry  on  the  war 
against  Jugurtha,  whom  he  defeated. 

Soon  after  this  the  Roman  provinces  were  in- 
vaded by  a  band  of  barbarians  from  all  parts,  es- 
timated at  three  hundred  thousand  men.  Marius 
was  sent  against  the  Teutones.  He  came  up  with 
them  at  Aquae  Sextiae,  a  short  march  from  the 
Alps.  There  Marius  prepared  for  battle,  having 
pitched  upon  a  place  for  his  camp  which  was  un- 
exceptionable in  point  of  strength,  but  afforded 
little  water.     By  this  circumstance,  they  tell  us, 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  99 

he  wanted  to  excite  the  soldiers  to  action  ;  and 
when  many  of  them  complained  of  thirst  he 
pointed  to  a  river  which  ran  close  by  the  enemy's 
camp,  and  told  them,  "That  thence  they  must 
purchase  water  with  their  blood."  "Why  then," 
said  they,  "do  you  not  lead  us  thither  immedi- 
ately, before  our  blood  is  quite  parched  up  ?"  To 
which  he  answered  in  a  softer  tone,  "I  will  lead 
you  thither,  but  first  let  us  fortify  our  camp." 

The  soldiers  obeyed,  though  with  some  reluc- 
tance. But  .the  servants  of  the  army,  being  in 
great  want  of  water  both  for  themselves  and  their 
cattle,  ran  in  crowds  to  the  stream,  some  with 
pickaxes,  some  with  hatchets,  and  others  with 
swords  and  javelins,  along  with  their  pitchers; 
for  they  were  resolved  to  have  water,  though  they 
were  obliged  to  fight  for  it.  These  at  first  were 
encountered  by  a  small  party  of  the  enemy  ;  when 
some  having  bathed,  were  engaged  at  dinner,  and 
others  were  still  bathing,  for  there  the  country 
abounds  in  hot  wells.  This  gave  the  Romans  an 
opportunity  of  cutting  off  a  number  of  them, 
while  they  were  indulging  themselves  in  those 
delicious  baths,  and  charmed  with  the  sweetness 
of  the  place.  The  cry  of  these  brought  others  to 
their  assistance  ;  so  that  it  was  now  difficult  for 
Marius  to  restrain  the  impetuosity  of  his  soldiers, 
who  were  in  pain  for  their  servants.  Besides  the 
Ambrones,  to  the  number  of  thirty  thousand, 
who  were  the  best  troops  the  enemy  had,  and 
who  had  already  defeated  Manlius  and  Csepio, 
were  drawn  out,  and  stood  to  their  arms.     Though 


IOO  THE    YOUTH  S 

they  had  overcharged  themselves  with  eating,  yet 
the  wine  they  had  drunk  had  given  them  fresh 
spirits ;  and  they  advanced,  not  in  a  wild  and  dis- 
orderly manner,  or  with  a  confused  and  inarticu- 
late noise,  but  beating  their  arms  at  regular  inte- 
rvals, and  all  keeping  time  with  the  tune,  they 
came  on,  crying  out,  "Ambrones!"  "Ambrones!" 
This  they  did  either  to  encourage  each  other  or  to 
terrify  the  enemy  with  their  name.  The  Ligu- 
rians  were  the  first  of  the  Italians  that  moved 
against  them  ;  and  when  they  heard  the  enemy 
cry  "Ambrones,"  they  echoed  back  the  word, 
which  was  indeed  their  own  ancient  name.  Thus 
the  shout  was  often  returned  from  one  army  to 
the  other  before  they  charged,  and  the  officers  on 
both  sides  joining  in  it,  and  striving  which  should 
pronounce  the  word  loudest,  added  by  this  means 
to  the  courage  and  impetuosity  of  their  troops. 

The  Ambrones  were  obliged  to  pass  the  river, 
and  this  broke  their  order ;  so  that,  before  they 
could  form  again,  the  Ligurians  charged  the  fore- 
most of  them,  and  thus  began  the  battle.  The 
Romans  came  to  support  the  Ligurians  ;  and  pour- 
ing down  from  the  higher  ground,  pressed  the 
enemy  so  hard  that  they  soon  put  them  in  dis- 
order. Many  of  them  jostling  each  other  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  were  slain  there,  and  the  river 
itself  was  filled  with  dead  bodies.  Those  who 
got  safe  over  not  daring  to  make  headway,  were 
cut  off  by  the  Romans,  as  they  fled  to  their  camp 
and  carriages.  There  the  women,  meeting  them 
with  swords  and  axes,  and  setting  up  a  horrid  and 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  IOI 

hideous  cry,  fell  upon  the  fugitives,  as  well  as  the 
pursuers,  the  former  as  traitors  and  the  latter  as 
enemies.  Mingling  with  the  combatants,  they 
laid  hold  on  the  Roman  shields,  catched  at  their 
swords  with  their  naked  hands,  and  obstinately 
suffered  themselves  to  be  hacked  to  pieces.  It  is 
computed  that  two  hundred  thousand  of  the  bar- 
barian forces  were  killed  in  this  compaign.  Next 
year  the  Cimbri  were  overthrown,  and  one  hun- 
dred- and  forty  thousand  were  killed,  and  sixty 
thousand  taken  prisoners  by  the  Romans.  Ma- 
rius  was  then  elected  Consul  for  the  sixth  time, 
and  soon  after,  in  endeavoring  to  crush  the  power 
of  Sylla,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  civil  war. 
He  was  obliged  to  fly  to  Africa  for  safety,  where 
he  was  discovered.  Sylla  ordered  him  to  be 
killed.  No  citizen  would  undertake  this  office  ; 
but  a  dragoon  went  up  to  him  sword  in  hand, 
with  an  intent  to  dispatch  him.  The  chamber  in 
which  he  lay  was  somewhat  gloomy,  and  a  light, 
they  tell  you,  glanced  from  the  e}^es  of  Marius, 
which  darted  on  the  face  of  the  assassin  ;  while, 
at  the  same  time,  he  heard  a  solemn  voice  saying, 
"Dost  thou  dare  to  kill  Marius?"  Upon  this  the 
assassin  threw  down  his  sword  and  fled,  crying, 
"  I  cannot  kill  Marius.  " 

He  died  of  fever,  at  the  age  of  seventy. 


102  THE    YOUTHS 


LYSANDER. 


Note. — Lysander  (Spartan).  Lysander  lived  in  the 
fourth  century  B.C.  His  defeat  of  the  Athenians 
under  Antiochus,  off  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  took 
place  B.C.  407..  His  victory  of  JEgos  Potamos, 
which  virtually  ended  the  Peloponnesian  war,  oc- 
curred two  years  later. 

Aristoclitus,  the  father  of  Lysander,  is  said 
not  to  have  been  of  the  royal  line,  but  to  be  de- 
scended from  the  Heraclidse  by  another  family. 
As  for  Lysander,  he  was  bred  in  poverty.  No 
one  conformed  more  freely  to  the  Spartan  disci- 
pline than  he  did.  He  had  a  firm  heart,  above 
yielding  to  the  charms  of  any  pleasure,  except 
those  which  result  from  the  honor  and  success 
gained  by  great  actions.  At  Sparta  they  in- 
stilled into  their  children  an  early  passion  for 
glory,  and  taught  them  to  be  as  much  affected  by 
disgrace  as  elated  by  praise. 

Early  in  life  Lysander  ingratiated  himself 
greatly  with  Cyrus  the  Younger,  who  presented 
him  with  ten  thousand  pieces  of  gold.  With  this 
money  he  increased  the  pay  of  his  seamen,  and 
by  that  means  he  made  his  navy  so  popular  that 
the  ships  of  the  enemy  were  nearly  emptied  of 
men.  Still  he  was  afraid  to  give  battle  to  Alci- 
biades  personally,  but  as  soon  as  that  commander 
left  the  fleet  in  charge  of  Antiochus  he  fought  and 
conquered. 

In  the  next  fight  with  the  Athenians,  which  was 
at  ^Egos  Potamos,  Lysander  had  an  army  as  well 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  103 

as  a  navy,  and  by  waiting  for  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity he  succeeded  in  completely  defeating  the 
enemy,  taking  one  hundred  and  twenty  ships. 
When  he  had  fastened  the  captive  galleys  to  his 
own,  and  plundered  the  camp,  he  returned  to 
Lampsacus,  accompanied  with  the  flutes  and 
songs  of  triumph.  This  great  action  cost  him  but 
little  blood  ;  in  one  hour  he  put  an  end  to  the  Pe- 
loponnesian  war,  which  lasted  twenty-seven 
years.  It  had  been  diversified  beyond  all  others 
by  an  incredible  variety  of  events.  This  cruel 
war,  which  produced  such  vicissitudes  of  fortune, 
and  destroyed  more  generals  than  all  the  wars  of 
Greece  put  together,  was  terminated  by  the  con- 
duct and  capacity  of  one  man.  Some,  therefore, 
esteemed  it  the  effect  of  a  divine  interposition. 
There  were  those  who  said  that  the  stars  of  Castor 
and  Pollux  appeared  on  each  side  the  helm  of  Ly- 
sander's  ship  when  he  first  set  out  against  the 
Athenians.  Others  thought  that  a  stone,  which, 
according  to  the  common  opinion,  fell  from  hea- 
ven, was  an  omen  of  this  overthrow.  It  is  said 
that  Anaxagoras  had  foretold  that  one  of  those 
bodies  which  are  fixed  in  the  vault  of  heaven 
would  one  day  be  loosened  by  some  shock  or  con- 
vulsion of  the  whole  machine,  and  fall  to  the 
earth  ;  for  he  taught  that  the  stars  are  not  now 
in  the  places  where  they  were  originally ;  that, 
being  of  a  stony  substance  and  heavy,  the  light 
they  give  is  caused  only  by  the  reflection  and  re- 
fraction of  the  surrounding  ether ;  and  that  they 
are  carried  along  and  kept  in  their  orbits  by  the 


104  THE    YOUTHS 

rapid  motion  of  the  heavens,  which  from  the  be- 
ginning, when  the  cold,  ponderous  bodies  were 
separated  from  the  rest,  hindered  them  from  fall- 
ing. 

But  there  is  another  and  more  probable  opinion 
which  holds  that  falling  stars  are  not  emanations 
or  detached  parts  of  the  elementary  fire  that  go 
out  the  moment  they  are  kindled  ;  nor  yet  a  quan- 
ity  of  air  bursting  out  from  some  compression, 
and  taking  fire  in  the  upper  region  ;  but  that  they 
are  really  heavenly  bodies,  which,  from  some  re- 
laxation of  the  rapidity  of  their  motion,  or  by 
some  irregular  concussion,  are  loosened  and  fall, 
not  so  much  upon  the  habitable  part  of  the  globe 
as  into  the  ocean,  which  is  the  reason  that  their 
substance  is  seldom  seen. 

Lysander  compelled  the  Athenians  to  pull  down 
the  fortifications  and  the  long  wall  of  the  Piraeus. 
He  found  a  pretence  to  change  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment and  set  up  the  thirty  tyrants.  He  paid 
great  compliments  to  the  poets,  and  they  in  their 
turn  covered  him  with  fulsome  flattery.  He  got 
to  be  extremely  arrogant  and  cruel,  and  was 
killed  in  battle  by  the  Haliartians,  B.C.  394. 

Among  the  other  honors  paid  to  the  memory  of 
Lysander,  that  which  I  am  going  to  mention  is 
none  of  the  least.  Some  persons  who  had  con- 
tracted themselves  to  his  daughters  in  his  life- 
time, when  they  found  he  died  poor,  fell  off  from 
their  engagements.  The  Spartans  fined  them  for 
courting  the  alliance  while  the}''  had  riches  in 
view,  and  breaking  off  when  they  discovered  the 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  105 

poverty,  which  was  the  best  proof  of  Lysander's 
probity  and  justice.  It  seems,  at  Sparta,  there 
was  a  law  which  punished  not  only  those  who 
continued  in  a  state  of  celibacy,  or  married  too 
late,  but  those  who  married  ill ;  and  it  was  lev- 
eled chiefly  at  persons  who  married  into  rich 
rather  than  good  families. 

SYLLA    (SULLA). 

Note. — Sylla  (Roman).  This  Roman  general,  born 
b.c.  138,  was  one  of  the  most  debased  of  men,  as 
he  is  graphically  pictured  by  Plutarch.  He  be- 
came consul  in  his  forty-ninth  year  and  was  made 
dictator  of  Rome  B.C.  81.  His  frightful  death  oc- 
curred b.c  78,  when  he  was  sixty  years  old. 

There  is  very  little  that  is  creditable  in  the 
character  of  Lucius  Cornelius  Sylla.  He  gained 
his  fame-  by  his  military  achievements.  He  was 
born  of  poor  parents.  As  to  his  figure,  we  have 
the  whole  of  it  in  his  statues,  except  his  eyes.  They 
were  of  a  lively  blue,  fierce  and  menacing  ;  and  the 
ferocity  of  his  aspect  was  heightened  by  his  com- 
plexion, which  was  a  strong  red,  interspersed  with 
spots  of  white.  From  his  complexion,  they  tell 
us,  he  had  the  name  of  Sylla ;  and  an  Athenian 
droll  drew  the  following  jest  from  it:  "Sylla's 
a  mulberry,  strew'd  o'er  with  meal."  Nor  is  it 
foreign  to  make  these  observations  upon  a  man 
who  in  his  youth,  before  he  emerged  from  ob- 
scurity, was  such  a  lover  of  drollery  that  he  spent 
his  time  with  mimics  and  jesters,  and  went  with 
them   every   length   of  -riot.     Nay,  when   in  the 


106  THE    YOUTH'S 

height  of  his  power,  he  would  collect  the  most 
noted  players  and  buffoons  every  day,  and,  in  a 
manner  unsuitable  to  his  age  and  dignity,  drink 
and  join  with  them  in  licentious  wit,  while  busi- 
ness of  consequence  lay  neglected.  Indeed,  Sylla 
would  never  admit  of  anything  serious  at  his 
table ;  and  though  at  other  times  a  man  of  busi- 
ness, and  rather  grave  and  austere  in  his  manner, 
he  would  change  instantaneously,  whenever  he 
had  company,  and  begin  a  carousal ;  so  that  to 
buffoons  and  dancers  he  was  the  most  affable  man 
in  the  world,  the  most  easy  of  access,  and  they 
molded  him  just  as  they  pleased. 

His  passion  for  taking  Athens  was  irresistibly 
violent ;  whether  it  was  that  he  wanted  to  fight 
against  that  city's  ancient  renown,  of  which  noth- 
ing but  the  shadow  now  remained ;  or  whether 
he  could  not  bear  the  scoffs  and  taunts  with  which 
Aristion,  in  all  the  wantonness  of  ribaldry,  in- 
sulted him  and   Metellus  from  the  walls. 

The  composition  of  this  tyrant's  heart  was  in- 
solence and  cruelty.  He  was  the  sink  of  all  the 
follies  and  vices  of  Mithridates.  Poor  Athens, 
which  had  got  clear  of  innumerable  wars,  tyran- 
nies, and  seditions,  perished  at  last  by  this  mon- 
ster, as  by  a  deadly  disease.  The  people  ate  not 
only  the  herbs  and  roots  that  grew  about  the  cit- 
adel, but  sodden  leather  and  oil  bags,  while  he 
was  indulging  himself  in  riotous  feasts  and  danc- 
ings in  the  daytime,  or  mimicking  and  laughing 
at  the  enemy.  He  let  the  sacred  lamp  of  the  god- 
dess go  out  for  want  of  oil ;  and  when  the  princi- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  107 

pal  priestess  sent  to  ask  him  for  half  a  measure  of 
barley,  he  sent  her  that  quantity  of  pepper. 

An  internal  abscess  compelled  him  to  give  up 
war.  This  abscess  corrupted  his  flesh,  so  that, 
though  he  had  many  persons  employed  both  day 
and  night  to  clean  him,  his  whole  attire,  his  baths, 
his  basins,  and  his  food,  were  filled  with  a  per- 
petual flux  of  vermin  and  corruption  ;  and  though 
he  bathed  many  times  a  day,  to  cleanse  and  purify 
himself,  it  was  in  vain,  and  he  died  a  terrible  death. 

Pompey  conveyed  the  body  to  Rome,  and  con- 
ducted the  whole  funeral,  not  only  with  security, 
but  with  honor.  Such  was  the  quantity  of  spices 
brought  in  by  the  women  that  exclusive  of  those 
carried  in  two  hundred  and  ten  great  baskets,  a 
figure  of  Sylla  at  full  length,  and  of  a  lictor  be- 
sides, was  made  entirely  of  cinnamon  and  the 
choicest  frankincense.  The  day  happened  to  be 
so  cloudy,  and  the  rain  was  so  much  expected, 
that  it  was  about  three  in  the  afternoon  before 
the  corpse  was  carried  out.  However,  it  was  no 
sooner  laid  upon  the  pile  than  a  brisk  wind  blew, 
and  raised  so  strong  a  flame  that  it  was  consumed 
immediately.  But  after  the  pile  was  burnt  down, 
and  the  fire  began  to  die  out,  a  great  rain  fell, 
which  lasted  till  night,  so  that  Sylla 's  good  for- 
tune continued  to  the  last,  and  assisted  at  his  fu- 
neral. His  monument  stands  in  the  Campus 
Martius ;  and  they  tell  us  he  wrote  an  epitaph  for 
himself  to  this  purport : — "No  friend  ever  did  me 
so  much  good,  or  enemy  so  much  harm,  but  I  re- 
paid him  with  interest. " 


Io8  THE    YOUTH'S 


CIMON. 

Note. — Cimon  (Athenian).  Cimon  was  born  b.c.  519. 
His  first  memorable  exploit  was  the  capture  of  the 
important  town  of  Eion  on  the  Strymon,  476  B.C. 
Ten  years  later,  he  gained  a  great  victory  over  the 
Persians.  In  b.c.  461,  he  was  banished  for  ten 
years,  but  was  recalled  five  years  later.  His 
death  at  the  siege  of  Citium  took  place  b.c.  449. 

Cimon  was  the  son  of  Miltiades  and  Hegesipyla. 
He  was  a  person  of  no  reputation,  but  censured  as 
a  disorderly  and  riotous  young  man.  He  was 
even  compared  to  his  grandfather  Cimon,  who, 
for  his  stupidity,  was  called  Coalemus,  that  is, 
Idiot.  He  had  no  knowledge  of  music,  or  any 
other  accomplishment  which  was  in  vogue  among 
the  Greeks,  and  he  had  not  the  least  spark  of  the 
Attic  wit  or  eloquence  ;  but  there  was  a  generos- 
ity and  sincerity  in  his  behavior  which  showed 
the  composition  of  his  soul  to  be  rather  of  the 
Peloponnesian  kind.  Like  the  Hercules  of  Euri- 
pides, he  was 

li  Rough  and  unbred,  but  great  on  great  occasions." 

After  several  successful  battles  he  had  acquired 
a  great  fortune  ;  and  what  he  had  gained  glo- 
riously in  the  war  from  the  enemy,  he  laid  out 
with  as  much  reputation  upon  his  fellow-citizens. 
He  ordered  the  fences  of  his  fields  and  gardens  to 
be  thrown  down,  that  strangers,  as  well  as  his 
own  countrymen,  might  freely  partake  of  his 
fruit.  He  had  a  supper  provided  at  his  house 
every  day,  in  which  the  dishes  were  plain,  but  suf- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  IO9 

ficient  for  a  multitude  of  guests.  Every  poor  cit- 
izen repaired  to  it  at  pleasure,  and  had  his  diet 
without  care  or  trouble  ;  by  which  means  he  was 
enabled  to  give  proper  attention  to  public  affairs. 

When  he  walked  out  he  used  to  have  a  retinue 
of  young  men,  well  clothed  ;  and  if  he  happened 
to  meet  an  aged  citizen  in  a  mean  dress,  he  or- 
dered some  one  of  them  to  change  clothes  with 
him.  This  was  great  and  noble.  But,  besides 
this,  the  same  attendants  carried  with  them  a 
quantity  of  money,  and  when  they  met  in  the 
market-place  with  any  necessitous  person  of  tol- 
erable appearance,  they  took  care  to  slip  some 
pieces  into  his  hand  as  privately  as  possible. 

He  was  killed  at  the  siege  of  Citium,  and  his 
remains  were  taken  to  Attica,  where  a  monument 
bears  the  name  Cimonia. 


LUCULLUS. 

Note. — Lucullus  (Roman).  Lucius  Licinius  Lucullus 
was  born  about  B.C.  115.  He  was  made  consul  B.C. 
74  and  was  engaged  with  varying  fortunes  in  the 
war  against  Mithridates  for  eight  years.  The  enor- 
mous wealth  which  he  brought  from  Asia  enabled 
him  to  give  magnificent  feasts,  build  splendid  gar- 
dens, parks  and  fish-ponds,  and  to  indulge  his  lux- 
urious tastes  to  the  full.     He  died  about  b.c  57. 

Though  he  was  but  a  stripling  at  the  time  of 
the  Marsian  war,  there  appeared  many  instances 
of  his  courage  and  understanding  ;  but  Sylla's  at- 
tachment to  him  was  principally  owing  to  his  con- 
stancy and  mildness.     Amongst  other  things,  he 


IIO  THE    YOUTH  S 

gave  him  the  direction  of  the  mint ;  and  it  was 
he  who  coined  most  of  Sylla's  money  in  Pelopon- 
nesus during  the  Mithridatic  war.  From  him  it 
was  called  Lucullia,  and  it  continued  to  be  chiefly 
in  use  for  the  army ;  for  the  goodness  of  it  made 
it  pass  with  ease. 

During  the  time  that  he  was  Quaestor  in  Asia 
and  Praetor  in  Africa,  he  rendered  himself  con- 
spicuous by  his  justice  and  humanity.  He  was 
made  consul,  and  had  the  conduct  of  the  war 
against  Mithridates.  He  was  fortunate  both  by 
sea  and  land.  He  crossed  the  Euphrates  and  laid 
siege  to  Tigranocerta.  The  mixed  multitude  of 
barbarians  in  the  city  saw  him,  and  in  a  menac- 
ing manner  pointed  to  their  king's  armies  before 
the  walls. 

Lucullus,  before  the  battle,  held  a  council  of 
war.  Some  advised  him  to  quit' the  siege  and 
meet  Tigranes  with  all  his  forces  ;  others  were  of 
opinion  that  he  should  continue  the  siege,  and  not 
leave  so  many  enemies  behind  him.  He  told  them 
that  neither  separately  gave  good  counsel,  but 
both  together  did.  He  therefore  divided  his 
forces,  and  left  Murena  before  the  place  with  six 
thousand  men  ;  while  he,  with  the  rest  of  the  in- 
fantry, consisting  of  twenty-four  cohorts,  which 
contained  not  more  than  ten  thousand  combat- 
ants, with  all  his  cavalry,  and  about  a  thousand 
slingers  and  archers,  marched  against  Tigranes, 
whose  army  was  computed  at  two  hundred  thou- 
sand men.  He  encamped  on  a  large  plain  with 
a  river  before  him,  where  his  army,  appearing  no 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  Ill 

more  than  a  handful,  afforded  much  matter  of 
mirth  to  the  flatterers  of  the  king.  Some  ridiculed 
the  diminutive  appearance ;  others,  by  way  of 
jest,  cast  lots  for  the  spoil ;  and  there  was  not 
one  of  the  generals  and  princes  who  did  not  come 
and  desire  to  be  employed  alone  upon  that  ser- 
vice, while  Tigranes  needed  only  to  sit  still  and 
look  on.  The  king,  too,  thinking  he  must  show 
himself  facetious  on  the  occasion,  made  use  of 
that  celebrated  expression,  "That  if  they  came  as 
ambassadors,  there  were  too  many  of  them  ;  if  as 
soldiers,  too  few. "  Thus  they  passed  the  first  day 
in  raillery.  Next  morning,  at  break  of  day,  Lu- 
cullus  drew  out  his  army.  The  camp  of  the  bar- 
barians was  on  the  east  side  of  the  river ;  but  the 
river,  where  it  is  most  fordable,  makes  a  bend  to 
the  west.  As  Lucullus  marched  hastily  down  to 
that  quarter,  Tigranes  thought  he  was  retreating. 
Upon  this,  he  called  to  Taxiles,  and  said  with  a 
scornful  smile,  "Seest  thou  not  these  invincible 
Roman  legions  taking  to  flight?"  Taxiles  an- 
swered, "  I  wish  from  my  soul,  my  lord,  that  your 
good  genius  may  work  a  miracle  in  your  favor ; 
but  these  legions  do  not  use  their  best  accouter- 
ments  in  a  mere  march.  They  do  not  wear  their 
polished  shields,  nor  take  their  bright  helmets  out 
of  their  cases,  as  you  see  they  have  now  done. 
All  this  splendid  appearance  indicates  their  inten- 
tion to  fight,  and  to  advance  against  their  enemies 
as  fast  as  possible. "  While  Taxiles  was  yet  speak- 
ing, they  saw  the  eagle  of  the  foremost  legion 
make  a  motion  to  the  right,  by  order  of  Lucullus, 


112  THE    YOUTHS 

and  the  cohorts  proceed  in  good  order  to  pass  the 
river.  Then  Tigranes,  with  much  difficulty, 
awakened  from  his  intoxication,  and  exclaimed 
two  or  three  times,  "Are  these  men  coming 
against  us?"  After  this,  he  drew  out  his  forces 
in  a  hasty  and  disorderly  manner,  taking  himself 
the  command  of  the  main  body,  and  giving  the 
left  wing  to  the  king  of  the  Adiabenians,  and  the 
right  to  the  king  of  the  Medes.  Before  this  right 
wing  were  placed  most  of  the  cavalry  that  were 
armed  in  steel. 

As  Lucullus  was  going  to  pass  the  river,  some 
of  his  officers  admonished  him  to  beware  of  that 
day,  which  had  been  inauspicious,  or,  as  they 
called  it,  a  black  one  to  the  Romans  ;  for  on  that 
day  Csepio's  army  was  defeated  by  the  Cimbri. 
Lucullus  returned  that  memorable  answer,  "I  will 
make  this  day,  too,  an  auspicious  one  for  Rome." 
It  was  the  6th  of  October.  Having  thus  spoken, 
and  withal  exhorted  his  men  to  exert  themselves, 
he  advanced  at  the  head  of  them  against  the 
enemy.  He  was  armed  with  a  breastplate  of 
steel,  formed  in  scales,  which  cast  a  surprising 
lustre ;  and  the  robe  he  wore  over  it  was  adorned 
with  fringe.  He  drew  his  sword  immediately,  to 
show  his  troops  the  necessity  of  coming  hand 
to  hand  with  an  enemy  who  were  accustomed  to 
fight  at  a  distance,  and  by  the  vigor  of  their 
charge  not  to  leave  the  enemy  room  to  exercise 
their  missive  weapons.  Observing  that  the  ene- 
my's heavy-armed  cavalry,  upon  which  they  had 
their  chief  dependence,  was  covered  by  a  hill  that 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  113 

was  plain  and  even  at  the  top,  and  which,  with  an 
extent  of  only  four  furlongs,  was  not  very  difficult 
to  ascend,  he  dispatched  his  Thracian  and  Gaulish 
horse  with  orders  to  take  them  on  the  flank,  and  to 
strike  at  nothing  but  the  shafts  of  their  pikes. 
Their  whole  strength,  indeed,  consists  in  the  pike, 
and  they  have  no  other  weapon,  either  offensive 
or  defensive,  that  they  can  use,  by  reason  of  their 
heavy  and  unwieldy  armor  in  which  they  are,  as 
it  were,  immured. 

Meanwhile  he  began  to  climb  the  hill  with  two 
companies  of  infantry,  and  the  soldiers  followed 
him  with  great  readiness,  when  they  saw  him,  en- 
cumbered as  he  was  with  his  armor,  the  first  to 
labor  on  foot  up  the  ascent.  When  he  had  reached 
the  summit,  he  stood  on  the  most  conspicuous  part 
of  it,  and  cried  out,  "The  victory  is  ours,  my  fel- 
low-soldiers, the  victory  is  ours !"  At  the  same 
time,  he  advanced  against  the  heavy-armed  cav- 
alry, and  ordered  his  men  not  to  make  any  use  of 
their  javelins,  but  to  come  to  close  action,  and  to 
aim  their  blows  at  their  enemies'  legs  and  thighs, 
in  which  parts  alone  they  were  not  armed.  There 
was  no  need,  however,  to  put  this  in  execution  ; 
for,  instead  of  standing  to  receive  the  Romans, 
the  enemy  set  up  a  cry  of  fear,  and  most  despic- 
ably fled,  without  striking  a  blow.  In  their  flight 
they  and  their  horses,  heavy  with  armor,  ran  back 
upon  their  own  infantry,  and  put  them  in  confu- 
sion ;  insomuch  that  all  those  myriads  were  routed 
without  standing  to  receive  one  wound,  or  spill- 
ing one  drop  of  blood.    Multitudes,  however,  were 


114  THE    YOUTH  S 

slain  in  their  flight,  or  rather  in  their  attempt  to 
fly,  their  ranks  being  so  thick  and  deep  that  they 
entangled  and  impeded  each  other. 

Tigranes  rode  off,  one  of  the  first,  with  a  few 
attendants ;  and  seeing  his  son  taking  his  share 
in  his  misfortune,  he  took  the  diadem  from  his 
head,  gave  it  him,  with  tears,  and  desired  him  to 
save  himself  in  the  best  manner  he  could  by  tak- 
ing some  other  road.  The  young  prince  did  not 
venture  to  wear  it,  but  put  it  in  the  hands  of  one 
of  his  most  faithful  servants,  who  happened  after- 
wards to  be  taken  and  brought  to  Lucullus  ;  by 
this  means  the  royal  diadem  of  Tigranes  added  to 
the  honors  of  the  spoil.  It  is  said  that  of  the  foot 
there  fell  above  a  hundred  thousand,  and  of  the 
horse  very  few  escaped  ;  whereas  the  Romans  had 
but  five  killed,  and  a  hundred  wounded.  Anti- 
ochus,  the  philosopher,  in  his  Treatise  concerning 
the  Gods,  speaking  of  this  action,  says  the  sun 
never  beheld  such  another.  Strabo,  another  phil- 
osopher, in  his  Historical  Commentaries,  informs 
us  that  the  Romans  were  ashamed,  and  ridiculed 
each  other  for  having  employed  weapons  against 
such  vile  slaves.  And  Livy  tells  us,  the  Romans, 
with  such  inferior  numbers,  never  engaged  such 
a  multitude  as  this.  The  victors  did  not,  indeed, 
make  up  the  twentieth  part  of  the  vanquished. 
The  most  able  and  experienced  commanders 
among  the  Romans  paid  the  highest  compliments 
to  the  generalship  of  Lucullus,  principally  be- 
cause he  had  defeated  two  of  the  greatest  and 
most  powerful  kings  in  the  world  by  methods  en- 


PLUTARCH   S    LIVES.  IT5 

tirely  different ;  the  one  by  an  expeditious,  and 
the  other  by  a  slow  process. 

Lucullus  was  a  sumptuous  liver,  as  the  follow- 
ing particulars  show.  Crassus  and  Pompey  ridi- 
culed Lucullus  for  giving  way  to  a  life  of  pleas- 
ure and  expense,  thinking  it  full  as  unseasonable 
at  his  time  of  life  to  plunge  into  luxury,  as  to  di- 
rect the  administration  or  lead  armies  into  the 
field.  Among  his  frivolous  amusements  I  cannot 
but  reckon  his  sumptuous  villas,  walks,  and  baths, 
and  still  more,  the  paintings,  statues,  and  other 
works  of  art,  which  he  collected  at  an  immense 
expense,  idly  squandering  away  upon  them  the 
vast  fortune  which  he  had  amassed  in  the  wars ; 
insomuch,  that  even  now,  when  luxury  has  made 
so  much  greater  advances,  the  gardens  of  Lucul- 
lus are  numbered  with  those  of  kings,  and  the 
most  magnificent  even  of  those.  When  Tubera, 
the  Stoic,  beheld  his  works  on  the  sea-coast  near 
Naples,  the  hills  he  had  excavated  for  vaults  and 
cellars,  the  reservoirs  he  had  formed  about  his 
houses  to  receive  the  sea  for  the  feeding  of  his  fish, 
and  his  edifices  in  the- sea  itself,  the  philosopher 
called  him  Xerxes  in  a  gown.  Besides  these,  he 
had  the  most  superb  pleasure-houses  in  the  coun- 
try near  Tusculum,  adorned  with  grand  galleries 
and  open  saloons,  as  well  for  the  prospect  as  for 
walks.  Pompey,  on  a  visit  there,  blamed  Lucul- 
lus for  having  made  the  villa  commodious  only  for 
the  summer,  and  absolutely  uninhabitable  in  the 
winter.  Lucullus  answered  with  a  smile,  "What, 
then,  do  you  think  I  have  not  so  much  sense  as 


Il6  THE    YOUTH'S 

the  cranes  and  storks,  which  change  their  habita- 
tions with  the  seasons?" 

A  praetor,  who  wanted  to  exhibit  magnificent 
games,  applied  to  Lucullus  for  some  purple  robes 
for  the  chorus  in  his  tragedy  ;  and  he  told  him  he 
would  inquire  whether  he  could  furnish  him  or 
not.  Next  day  he  asked  him  how  many  he  wanted. 
The  praetor  answered,  "A  hundred  would  be  suffi- 
cient;" upon  which  Lucullus  said,  "He  might 
have  twice  that  number  if  he  pleased. "  The  poet 
Horace  makes  this  remark  on  the  occasion  : — 

"  Poor  is  the  house  where  plenty  has  not  stores 
That  miss  the  master's  eye " 

His  daily  repasts  were  like  those  of  a  man  sud- 
denly grown  rich  ;  pompous  not  only  in  the  beds, 
which  were  covered  with  purple  carpets,  the  side- 
boards of  plate  set  with  precious  stones,  and  all 
the  entertainment  which  musicians  and  comedians 
could  furnish  ;  but  in  the  vast  variety  and  exquis- 
ite dressing  of  the  provisions.  These  things  ex- 
cited the  admiration  of  men  of  unenlarged  minds. 
Pompey,  therefore,  was  highly  applauded  for  the 
answer  he  gave  his  physician  in  a  fit  of  sickness. 
The  physician  had  ordered  him  to  eat  a  thrush, 
and  his  servants  told  him,  "That,  as  it  was  sum- 
mer, there  were  no  thrushes  to  be  found,  except 
in  the  aviaries  of  Lucullus."  But  he  would 
not  suffer  them  to  apply  for  them  there,  and  said 
to  his  physician,  "Must  Pompey  then  have  died, 
if  Lucullus  had  not  been  an  epicure?" 

The  great  expense   he  incurred   in   collecting 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  117 

•books  deserves  approbation.  The  number  of  vol- 
umes was  great,  and  they  were  written  in  elegant 
hands  ;  yet  the  use  he  made  of  them  was  more 
honorable  than  the  acquisition.  His  libraries 
were  open  to  all.  The  Greeks  repaired  at  pleas- 
ure to  the  galleries  and  porticos,  as  to  the  retreat 
of  the  Muses,  and  there  spent  whole  days  in  con- 
versation on  matters  of  learning— delighted  to  re- 
tire to  such  a  scene  from  business  and  from  care. 
Lucullus  himself  often  joined  these  learned  men 
in  their  walks,  and  conferred  with  them,  and 
when  he  was  applied  to  about  the  affairs  of  their 
country  he  gave  them  his  assistance  and  advice  ; 
so  that  his  house  was  in  fact  an  asylum  and  sen- 
ate house  to  all  the  Greeks  who  visited  Rome. 

Lucullus  bestowed  the  time  which  was  not  em- 
ployed in  war  on  the  promotion  of  law  and  justice. 
These  had  long  lost  their  influence  in  Asia,  which 
was  then  overwhelmed  with  unspeakable  misfor- 
tunes. It  was  desolated  and  enslaved  by  the  far- 
mers of  the  revenue,  and  by  usurers.  The  poor 
inhabitants  were  forced  to  sell  the  most  beautiful 
of  their  sons  and  daughters,  the  ornaments  and 
offerings  in  their  temples,  their  paintings,  and  the 
statues  of  their  gods.  The  last  resource  was  to 
serve  their  creditors  as  slaves.  Their  sufferings 
prior  to  this  were  more  cruel  and  insupportable ; 
prisons,  racks,  tortures,  exposures  to  the  burning 
sun  in  summer,  and  in  winter  to  the  extremity  of 
cold,  amidst  ice  or  mire  ;  insomuch  that  servitude 
seemed  a  happy  deliverance.  Lucullus,  finding 
the  cities  in  such  dreadful  distress,  soon  rescued 


Il8  THE    YOUTH'S 

the  oppressed  from  all  their  burdens.  In  the  first 
place,  he  ordered  the  creditors  not  to  take  above 
one  per  centum  for  a  month's  interest;  in  the 
next  place,  he  abolished  all  interest  that  exceeded 
the  principal ;  the  third  and  most  important  regu- 
lation was,  that  the  creditor  should  not  take  above 
a  fourth  part  of  the  debtor's  income  ;  and  if  any 
one  took  interest  upon  interest,  he  was  to  lose  all. 
By  these  means,  in  less  than  four  years,  all  the 
debts  were  paid,  and  the  estates  restored  free  to 
the  proprietors.  Lucullus  died  in  the  fifty-eighth 
year  of  his  age,  greatly  regretted  by  the  people. 

NICIAS. 

Note. — Nicias  (Athenian).  Caution  was  the  leading 
characteristic  of  this  general,  who  played  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  Peloponnesian  war.  He  negotiated 
the  Peace  of  Nicias,  421  B.C.,  by  which  the  Atheni- 
ans and  Spartans  agreed  to  a  truce  for  fifteen 
years.  In  many  respects  this  brave  general  was 
the  special  target  of  misfortune. 

This  Athenian  general  was  celebrated  for  his 
valor  and  for  his  misfortunes.  He  took  Cythera, 
an  island  well  situated  for  annoying  Laconia,  and 
at  that  time  inhabited  by  Lacedaemonians.  He 
recovered  many  places  in  Thrace,  which  had  re- 
volted from  the  Athenians.  He  shut  up  the  Me- 
garensians  within  their  walls,  and  reduced  the 
island  of  Minoa.  From  thence  he  made  an  excur- 
sion soon  after,  and  got  possession  of  the  port  of 
Nisaea.  He  likewise  made  a  descent  upon  the 
territories   of   Corinth,    beat    the   troops  of  that 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  119 

state  in  a  pitched  battle,  and  killed  great  num- 
bers of  them  ;  Lycophron,  their  general,  being 
among  the  slain. 

He  happened  to  leave  there  the  bodies  of  two  of 
his  men,  who  were  missed  in  carrying  off  the  dead. 
But  as  soon  as  he  knew  it  he  stopped  his  course, 
and  sent  a  herald  to  the  enemy  to  ask  leave  to 
take  away  those  bodies.  This  he  did,  though 
there  was  a  law  and  custom  existing  by  which 
those  who  desire  a  treaty  for  carrying  off  the  dead 
give  up  the  victory,  and  are  not  at  liberty  to  erect 
a  trophy.  And  indeed,  those  who  are  so  far  mas- 
ters of  the  field  that  the  enemy  cannot  bury  their 
dead  without  permission,  appear  to  be  conquerors, 
because  no  man  would  ask  as  a  favor  that  which 
he  could  command.  Nicias,  however,  chose  rath- 
er to  lose  his  laurels  than  to  leave  two  of  his 
countrymen  unburied. 

One  of  the  failings  of  Nicias  was  laziness,  as  we 
may  read  in  Aristophanes'  comedy  of  "The 
Birds, "  where  he  says,  "  By  heaven  !  this  is  no  time 
for  us  to  slumber,  or  to  imitate  the  lazy  operations 
of  Nicias." 

At  the  siege  of  Syracuse  Lucullus  was  in  chief 
command,  and  that  place  would  have  surrendered 
to  him  had  not  the  sudden  appearance  of  Gylip- 
pus,  the  Corinthian,  an  ally  of  the  Sicilians,  given 
them  courage  at  the  critical  moment.  Gylippus 
proposed  terms  of  peace,  but  the  Athenians  re- 
fused them  ;  and  after  some  battles,  in  which  Ni- 
cias was  defeated,  Demosthenes  was  sent  with 
a  powerful  fleet  to  assist  him.     Over-eagerness, 


I20  THE    YOUTHS 

however,  was  the  cause  of  the  defeat  of  Demos- 
thenes. This  was  a  severe  blow  to  Nicias,  though 
it  was  what  he  expected  ;  and  he  inveighed  against 
the  rash  proceedings  of  Demosthenes.  That  gen- 
eral defended  himself  as  well  as  he  could,  but  at 
the  same  time  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  they 
should  embark  and  return  home  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible. "We  cannot  hope,"  said  he,  "either  for 
another  army,  or  to  conquer  with  the  forces  we 
have.  Nay,  supposing  we  had  the  advantage,  we 
ought  to  relinquish  a  situation  which  is  well  known 
at  all  times  to  be  unhealthy  for  the  troops,  and 
which  now  we  find  still  more  fatal  from  the  season 
of  the  year. " 

Demosthenes  urged  the  matter  no  further,  be- 
cause his  former  counsels  had  proved  unfortu- 
nate. But  as  fresh  forces  came  to  the  assistance 
of  the  Syracusans,  and  the  sickness  prevailed 
more  and  more  in  the  Athenian  camp,  Nicias  or- 
dered the  troops  to  be  ready  to  embark.  Every- 
thing was  accordingly  prepared  for  embarkation, 
but  in  the  night  there  happened  an  eclipse  of  the 
moon,  in  which  Nicias  and  all  the  rest  of  his  war- 
riors were  struck  with  a  great  panic,  looking  upon 
the  phenomenon  as  a  bad  omen.  It  was  a  great 
unhappiness  to  Nicias  that  he  had  not  then  with 
him  an  able  diviner.  Stilbides.  whom  he  em- 
ployed on  such  occasions,  and  who  used  to  lessen 
the  influence  of  his  superstition,  died  a  little  be- 
fore. Supposing  the  eclipse  a  portent,  it  could 
not,  as  Philochorus  observes,  be  inauspicious  to 
those  who  wanted  to  fly,  but,  on   the  contrary, 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  121 

very  favorable.  For  whatever  is  transacted  with 
fear  seeks  the  shades  of  darkness  :  light  is  the 
worst  enemy.  Besides,  on  other  occasions,  as 
Auticlides  remarks  in  his  Commentaries,  there 
were  only  three  days  that  people  refrained  from 
business  after  an  eclipse  of  either  sun  or  moon  ; 
whereas  Nicias  wanted  to  stay  another  entire  revo- 
lution of  the  moon,  as  if  he  could  not  see  her  as 
bright  as  ever  the  moment  she  passed  the  shadow 
caused  by  the  interposition  of  the  earth. 

But  while  he  was  waiting  for  more  favorable 
prognostications  the  Syracusans  surrounded  him 
and  attacked  him  by  sea  and  land,  and  utterly  de- 
feated him.  Demosthenes  was  taken  prisoner, 
and  the  troops  he  had  the  conduct  of  were  sur- 
rounded. Upon  hearing  this  Nicias  begged  to 
treat  with  Gylippus,  and  offered  hostages  for  pay- 
ing the  Syracusans  the  whole  charge  of  the  war, 
on  condition  they  would  suffer  the  Athenians  to 
quit  Sicily.  The  Syracusans  rejected  the  pro- 
posal with  every  mark  of  insolence  and  outrage, 
and  fell  again  upon  the  wretched  man,  who  was 
in  want  of  all  manner  of  necessaries.  He  de- 
fended himself,  however,  all  that  night  and  con- 
tinued his  march  the  next  day  to  the  river  Asi- 
naarus.  The  enemy  galled  his  troops  all  the  way, 
and  when  they  came  to  the  banks  of  the  river 
pushed  them  in.  Nay,  some  of  them,  impatient  to 
quench  their  burning  thirst,  voluntarily  plunged 
into  the  stream.  Then  followed  a  most  cruel 
scene  of  blood  and  slaughter,  the  poor  wretches 
being  massacred  as  they  were  drinking.     At  last 


122  THE    YOUTH'S 

Nicias  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  Gylippus,  and 
said,  "  Gylippus,  you  should  show  some  compas- 
sion amidst  your  victory.  I  ask  nothing  for  my- 
self. What  is  life  to  a  man  whose  misfortunes 
are  even  proverbial?  But  with  respect  to  the 
other  Athenians,  methinks  you  should  remember 
that  the  chance  of  war  is  uncertain,  and  with 
what  humanity  and  moderation  they  treated  you 
when  they  were  victorious.  " 

Gylippus  was  somewhat  affected  both  at  the 
sight  of  Nicias  and  at  his  speech.  He  knew  the 
good  offices  he  had  done  the  Lacedaemonians  at 
the  last  treaty  of  peace,  and  he  was  sensible  it 
would  contribute  greatly  to  his  honor  if  he  could 
take  two  of  the  enemy '  s  generals  prisoners.  There- 
fore, raising  Nicias  from  the  ground,  he  bade  him 
take  courage,  and  gave  orders  that  the  other  Athe- 
nians should  have  quarter.  But  as  the  order  was 
slowly  communicated,  the  number  of  those  that 
were  saved  were  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  the 
slain,  though  the  soldiers  spared  several  unknown 
to  their  officers. 

The  Athenians  did  not  at  first  give  credit  to  the 
news  of  this  misfortune,  the  person  who  bore  it 
not  appearing  to  deserve  their  notice.  It  seems, 
a  stranger  who  landed  in  the  Piraeus,  as  he  sat  to 
be  shaved  in  a  barber's  shop,  spoke  of  it  as  of  an 
event  already  known  to  the  Athenians.  The  bar- 
ber no  sooner  heard  it  than  he  ran  into  the  city, 
and  informed  the  magistrates  of  the  news  in  open 
court.  Trouble  and  dismay  seized  all  that  heard 
it.     The  magistrates  immediately  summoned  an 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  1 23 

assembly,  and  introduced  the. informant.  There 
he  was  interrogated  of  whom  he  had  the  intelli- 
gence ;  and  as  he  could  give  no  clear  and  perti- 
nent answer,  he  was  considered  as  a  forger  of  false 
news  and  a  public  incendiary.  In  this  light  he 
was  fastened  to  the  wheel,  where  he  bore  the  tor- 
ture for  some  time,  till  at  length  some  credible 
persons  arrived,  who  gave  a  distinct  account  of 
the  whole  disaster. 

Nicias,  and  his  general  Demosthenes,  were  put 
to  death  by  the  Syracusans  b.c.  413. 


MARCUS   CRASSUS. 

Note. — Marcus  Crassus  (Roman).  This  immensely 
rich  consul  and  triumvir  defeated  the  insurgent 
gladiators,  B.C.  71.  He  and  Pomp ey  were  personal 
enemies,  but  Caesar  brought  about  a  reconcilia- 
tion, b.c  60,  when  the  first  triumvir  was  formed. 
The  legend  is  that  after  Crassus  was  slain  in  battle, 
Orodes,  king  of  Parthia,  had  melted  gold  poured 
into  the  dead  man's  mouth,  with  the  taunt  :  "  Sate 
thyself  now  with  that  metal  of  which  in  life  thou 
wert  so  greedy." 

Crassus  had  but  one  vice,  which  cast  a  shade 
upon  his  many  virtues,  namely,  avarice.  He 
made  money  in  many  ways.  He  had  observed  how 
liable  the  city  was  to  fires,  and  how  frequently 
houses  fell  down  owing  to  the  weight  of  the  build- 
ings, and  their  standing  so  close  together.  In 
consequence  of  this  he  provided  himself  with  slaves 
who  were  carpenters  and  masons,  and  went  on 
collecting  them  till  he  had  upwards  of  five  hun- 
dred.    Then  he  made    it    his  business    to    buy 


124  THE    YOUTH  S 

houses  that  were  on  fire,  and  others  that  joined 
them,  and  he  commonly  had  them  at  a  low  price 
by  reason  of  the  fear  and  distress  the  owners  were 
in  about  the  fire.  Hence  in  time  he  became  mas- 
ter of  great  part  of  Rome.  But  though  he  had  so 
many  workmen,  he  built  no  more  for  himself  than 
one  house  in  which  he  lived  ;  for  he  used  to  say, 
"That  those  who  love  building  will  soon  ruin 
themselves,  and  need  no  other  enemies." 

Though  he  had  several  silver  mines  and  lands 
of  great  value,  the  revenue  he  drew  from  them 
was  nothing  in  comparison  with  that  produced  by 
his  slaves ;  such  a  number  had  he  of  them,  and  all 
useful  in  life,— readers,  amanuenses,  bookkeep- 
ers, stewards,  and  cooks.  He  used  to  attend  to 
their  education,  and  often  gave  them  lessons  him- 
self ;  esteeming  it  a  principal  part  of  the  business 
of  a  master  to  inspect  and  take  care  of  his  ser- 
vants, whom  he  considered  as  the  living  instru- 
ments of  economy.  In  this  he  was  certainly  right, 
if  he  thought,  as  he  often  said,  that  other  matters 
should  be  managed  by  servants,  but  the  servants 
by  the  master.  He  was  wrong,  however,  in  say- 
ing that  no  man  ought  to  be  esteemed  rich  who 
could  not  with  his  own  revenue  maintain  an  army  ; 
for,  as  Archidamus  observes,  it  never  can  be  cal- 
culated what  such  a  monster  as  war  will  devour. 

Crassus  behaved  in  a  generous  manner  to  stran- 
gers ;  his  house  was  always  open  to  them  ;  and  he 
used  to  lend  money  to  his  friends  without  interest. 
Nevertheless,  his  rigor  in  demanding  his  money 
the  very  day  it  was  due  often  made  his  apparent 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  I  25 

favor  a  greater  inconvenience  than  the  paying  of 
interest  would  have  been.  As  to  his  invitations, 
they  were  most  of  them  to  the  commonalty ;  and 
though  there  was  a  simplicity  in  the  provision, 
yet  at  the  same  time  there  was  a  neatness  and  un- 
ceremonious welcome,  which  made  it  more  agree- 
able than  more  expensive  tables. 

As  to  his  studies,  he  cultivated  oratory— most 
particularly  that  of  the  bar,  which  had  its  superior 
utility.  And  though  he  might,  upon  the  whole, 
be  reckoned  equal  to  the  first-rate  speakers,  yet 
by  his  care  and  application  he  exceeded  those 
whom  nature  had  favored  more  ;  for  there  was 
not  a  cause,  however  unimportant,  to  which  he 
did  not  come  prepared.  Besides,  when  Pompey 
and  Caesar  and  Cicero  refused  to  speak,  he  often 
rose  and  finished  the  argument  in  favor  of  the 
defendant.  This  attention  of  his  to  assist  any 
unfortunate  citizen  made  him  very  popular,  and 
his  obliging  manner  in  his  common  address  had 
an  equal  charm.  There  was  not  a  Roman,  how- 
ever mean  and  insignificant,  whom  he  did  not 
salute,  or  whose  salutation  he  did  not  return  by 
name. 

Rome  was  at  this  time. divided  into  three  par- 
ties, at  the  head  of  which  were  Pompey,  Caesar, 
and  Crassus  ;  for  as  to  Cato,  his  reputation  was 
greater  than  his  power,  and  his  virtue  more  ad- 
mired than  followed.  The  prudent  and  steady 
part  of  the  city  were  for  Pompey ;  the  violent  and 
the  enterprising  gave  in  to  the  prospects  of  Caesar ; 
Crassus  steered  a  middle  course,  and  availed  him- 


126  THE    YOUTH'S 

self  of  both.  Crassus,  indeed,  often  changed 
sides,  and  neither  was  a  firm  friend  nor  an  im- 
placable enemy.  On  the  contrary,  he  frequently 
gave  up  either  his  attachments  or  resentments  in- 
differently when  his  interest  required  it ;  inso- 
much that  in  a  short  space  of  time  he  would  ap- 
pear either  in  support  or  opposition  to  the  same 
persons  and  laws. 

As  a  soldier,  Crassus  was  at  first  successful ;  but 
he  was  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  Surena,  a  gen- 
eral of  the  forces  of  Orodes,  King  of  Parthia,  and 
was  put  to  death  b.c.  53.  A  poet  of  the  period 
says  that  he  was 

"  In  all  trades  skilled  except  the  trade  of  war." 


SERTORIUS. 

Note. — Sertorius  (Roman).  This  distinguished  Ro- 
man general  was  made  quaestor,  b.c  91.  He  com- 
manded the  Cinnae  at  the  siege  of  Rome,  b.c  87. 
His  despotic  acts  weakened  his  influence  and 
popularity  and  brought  about  his  assassination  as 
narrated  by  Plutarch. 

Quintus  Sertorius  was  of  a  respectable  family 
in  the  town  of  Nursia  and  country  of  the  Sabines. 
Having  lost  his  father  when  a  child,  he  had  a  lib- 
eral education  given  him  by  his  mother,  Rhea, 
whom  on  that  account  he  always  loved  with  the 
greatest  tenderness.  He  was  sufficiently  qualified 
to  speak  in  a  court  of  justice,  and  by  his  abilities 
that  way  gained  some  interest  in  Rome  itself  when 
but  a  youth.     But  his  greater  talents  for  the  camp, 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  I27 

and  his  success  as  a  soldier,  turned  his  ambition 
into  that  channel. 

He  made  his  first  campaign  under  Csepio,  when 
the  Cimbri  and  Teutones  broke  into  Gaul.  The 
Romans  fought  a  battle,  in  which  their  behavior 
was  but  indifferent,  and  they  were  put  to  the  rout. 
On  this  occasion  Sertorius  lost  his  horse,  and  re- 
ceived many  wounds  himself,  yet  he  swam  the 
river  Rhone,  armed  as  he  was  with  his  breastplate 
and  shield,  in  spite  of  the  violence  of  the  torrent, 
— such  was  his  strength  of  body,  and  so  much  had 
he  improved  that  strength  by  exercise.  The  same 
enemy  came  on  a  second  time,  in  such  prodi- 
gious numbers  and  with  dreadful  menaces  that  it 
was  difficult  to  prevail  with  a  Roman  to  keep  his 
post,  or  to  obey  his  general.  Marius  had  then  the 
command,  and  Sertorius  offered  his  service  to  go 
as  a  spy,  and  bring  him  an  account  of  the  enemy. 
For  this  purpose  he  took  a  Gaulish  habit,  and  hav- 
ing learned  as  much  of  the  language  as  might 
suffice  for  common  address,  he  mingled  with  the 
barbarians.  When  he  had  seen  and  heard  enough 
to  let  him  into  the  measures  they  were  taking,  he 
returned  to  Marius,  who  honored  him  with  the 
established  rewards  of  valor ;  and  during  that 
whole  war  he  gave  such  proofs  of  his  courage  and 
capacity  as  raised  him  to  distinction,  and  perfectly 
gained  him  the  confidence  of  his  general. 

The  Characitani  are  seated  beyond  the  river 
Tagus.  They  have  neither  cities  nor  villages,  but 
dwell  upon  a  large  and  lofty  hill,  in  dens  and  cav- 
erns of  the  rocks,  the  mouths  of  which  are  all  to 


128  THE    YOUTH'S 

the  north.  The  soil  of  all  the  country  about  it  is 
a  clay  so  very  light  and  crumbly  that  it  yields  to 
the  pressure  of  the  foot,  is  reduced  to  powder  with 
the  least  touch,  and  flies  about  like  ashes  or  un- 
slaked lime.  The  barbarians,  whenever  they  are 
apprehensive  of  an  attack,  retire  to  these  caves 
with  their  booty,  and  look  upon  themselves  as  in 
a  place  perfectly  impregnable. 

It  happened  thatSertorius,  retiring  to  some  dis- 
tance from  Metellus,  encamped  under  this  hill ; 
and  the  savage  inhabitants,  imagining  he  retired 
only  because  he  was  beaten,  offered  him  several 
insults.  Sertorius,  either  provoked  at  such  treat- 
ment, or  willing  to  show  them  he  was  not  flying 
from  any  enemy,  mounted  his  horse  the  next  day, 
and  went  to  reconnoiter  the  place.  As  he  could 
see  no  part  in  which  it  was  accessible,  he  almost 
despaired  of  taking  it,  and  could  only  vent  his 
anger  in  vain  menaces.  At  last  he  observed  that 
the  wind  blew  the  dust  in  great  quantities  toward 
the  mouths  of  the  caves,  which,  as  I  said  before, 
are  all  to  the  north.  The  north  wind,  which  some 
call  "csecias,"  prevails  most  in  those  parts,  and  as 
it  was  then  the  height  of  summer,  it  was  remark- 
ably strong.  Sertorius,  reflecting  upon  what  he 
saw,  and  being  informed  by  the  neighboring 
Spaniards  that  these  were  the  usual  appearances, 
ordered  his  soldiers  to  collect  vast  quantities  of 
that  dry  and  crumbly  earth,  so  as  to  raise  a 
mound  of  it  over  against  the  hill.  The  barba- 
rians, imagining  he  intended  to  storm  their  strong- 
holds from  that  mound,  laughed  at  his  proceed- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  129 

ings.  The  soldiers  went  on  with  their  work  till 
night,  and  then  he  led  them  back  into  the  camp. 
Next  morning,  at  break  of  day,  a  gentle  breeze 
sprang  up,  which  moved  the  lightest  part  of  the 
heap,  and  dispersed  it  like  smoke  ;  and  as  the  sun 
got  up  higher,  the  "caecias"  blew  again,  and  by 
its  violence  covered  all  the  hill  with  dust.  Mean- 
time the  soldiers  stirred  up  the  heap  from  the 
very  bottom,  and  crumbled  all  the  clay ;  and  some 
galloped  up  and  down  to  raise  the  light  earth, 
and  thicken  the  clouds  of  dust  in  the  wind,  which 
carried  them  into  the  dwellings  of  the  Characi- 
tani,  their  entrances  directly  facing  it.  As  they 
were  caves,  and  of  course  had  no  other  opening, 
the  eyes  of  the  inhabitants  were  soon  filled,  and 
they  could  scarce  breathe  for  the  suffocating  dust 
which  they  drew  in  with  the  air.  In  these  wretched 
circumstances  they  held  out  two  days,  though 
with  great  difficulty,  and  the  third  day  surren- 
dered themselves  to  Sertorius  at  discretion,  who, 
by  reducing  them,  did  not  gain  such  an  accession 
of  strength  as  of  honor ;  for  an  honor  it  was  to 
subdue  those  by  stratagem  whom  his  arms  could 
not  reach. 

After  a  time,  one  of  his  officers  became  jealous 
of  his  general's  fame,  and  formed  a  conspiracy  to 
kill  him  at  an  entertainment.  The  entertainments 
at  which  Sertorius  was  present  had  been  always 
attended  with  great  order  and  decorum  ;  for  he 
could  not  bear  either  to  see  or  hear  the  least  in- 
decency, and  he  had  ever  accustomed  the  guests 
to  divert  themselves  in  an  innocent  and  irre- 
9 


130  THE    YOUTH  S 

proachable  manner.  But  in  the  midst  of  the  en- 
tertainment the  conspirators  began  to  seek  oc- 
casion to  quarrel,  introduced  the  most  dissolute 
discourse,  and  pretending  drunkenness  as  the 
cause  of  their  ribaldry.  All  this  was  done  to  pro- 
voke him.  However,  either  vexed  at  their  ob- 
scenities and  discourses,  or  guessing  at  their  de- 
sign, he  changed  his  posture,  and  threw  himself 
back  upon  his  couch,  as  though  he  neither  heard 
nor  regarded  them.  Then  Perpenna  took  a  cup 
of  wine,  and  as  he  was  drinking  purposely  let  it 
fall  out  of  his  hands.  The  noise  it  made  being 
the  signal  for  them  to  fall  on,  Antony,  who  sat 
next  to  Sertorius,  gave  him  a  stroke  with  his 
sword.  Sertorius  turned,  and  strove  to  get  up; 
but  Antony,  throwing  himself  upon  his  breast, 
held  both  his  hands :  so  that,  not  being  able  in 
the  least  to  defend  himself,  the  other  conspirators 
dispatched  him  with  many  wounds. 
This  happened  b.c.  72. 

EUMENES. 

Note. — Eumenes  (Greek).  Eumenes  was  accounted 
the  most  worthy  of  all  the  officers  of  Alexander 
the  Great  to  succeed  him  after  his  death.  His 
career  is  fully  told  in  the  sketch.     He  was  born 

360  B.C. 

This  Grecian  general  was  the  son  of  a  poor 
wagoner,  but  he  was  well  educated,  and  practiced 
the  exercises  in  vogue  at  those  times.  While  he 
was  but  a  lad,  Philip,  who  happened  to  be  in 
Cardia,  went  to  see  how  the  young  men  acquitted 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  131 

themselves  at  the  boxing  and  wrestling.  Eu- 
menes  got  on  so  well,  and  showed  so  much  ac- 
tivity, that  Philip  was  pleased  with  him  and  took 
him  into  his  train.  After  Philip's  death  he  main- 
tained the  reputation  of  being  equal  to  any  of  Al- 
exander's officers.  His  hand-to-hand  fight  with 
Neoptolemus  made  him  famous.  A  most  violent 
hatred  had  long  subsisted  between  them,  and  this 
day  added  stings  to  it.  They  rushed  forward  im- 
petuously with  swords  drawn,  and  loud  shouts. 
The  shock  their  horses  met  with  was  so  violent 
that  it  resembled  that  of  two  galleys.  The  fierce 
antagonists  quitted  the  bridles,  and  laid  hold  on 
each  other,  each  endeavoring  to  tear  off  the  hel- 
met or  the  breastplate  of  his  enemy.  While  their 
hands  were  thus  engaged  their  horses  went  from 
under  them,  and  as  they  fell  to  the  ground,  with- 
out quitting  their  hold,  they  wrestled  for  the  ad- 
vantage. Neoptolemus  was  beginning  to  rise 
first,  when  Eumenes  wounded  him  in  the  ham, 
and  by  that  means  got  upon  his  feet  before  him. 
Neoptolemus  being  wounded  in  one  knee  sup- 
ported himself  upon  the  other,  and  fought  with 
great  courage  underneath,  but  was  not  able  to 
give  his  adversary  a  mortal  blow.  At  last,  re- 
ceiving a  wound  in  the  neck,  he  grew  faint,  and 
stretched  himself  upon  the  ground.  Eumenes, 
with  all  the  eagerness  of  inveterate  hatred,  hast- 
ening to  strip  him  of  his  arms,  and  loading  him 
with  reproaches,  did  not  observe  that  his  sword 
was  still  in  his  hand ;  so  that  Neoptolemus 
wounded  him  under  the  cuirass  where  it  touches 


132  THE    YOUTHS 

upon  the  groin.  However,  as  the  stroke  was  but 
feeble,  the  apprehensions  it  gave  him  were  greater 
than  the  real  hurt. 

On  one  occasion  when  there  was  a  conspiracy 
to  kill  him  he  pretended  that  he  was  in  want  of 
money,  and  borrowed  large  sums  of  those  that 
hated  him  most,  in  order  that  they  might  give 
up  their  designs  upon  his  life  out  of  regard  to  the 
money  lent  him.  Thus  he  found  guards  for  him- 
self in  the  opulence  of  others ;  and  though  men  in 
general  seek  to  save  their  lives  by  giving,  he  pro- 
vided for  his  safety  by  borrowing. 

It  was  agreed  to  make  use  of  him  in  the  ensu- 
ing battle,  and  to  assassinate  him  immediately 
after.  But  Eudamus,  master  of  the  elephants, 
^nd  Phaedimus,  privately  informed  Eumenes  of 
the  resolutions,  not  out  of  any  kindness  or  benev- 
olent regard,  but  because  they  were  afraid  of  los- 
ing the  money  they  had  lent  him .  He  commended 
them  for  the  honor  with  which  they  behaved,  and 
retired  to  his  tent.  There  he  told  his  friends, 
"That  he  lived  among  a  herd  of  savage  beasts," 
and  immediately  made  his  will.  After  which  he 
destroyed  all  his  papers,  lest,  after  his  death, 
charges  and  impeachments  should  arise  against 
the  persons  who  wrote  them,  in  consequence  of 
the  secrets  discovered  therein.  Thus  foiled,  these 
conspirators  betrayed  him  into  the  hands  of  Anti- 
gonus  at  Nora,  in  Cappadocia,  and  he  was  killed 
b.c.  315. 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  I$$ 


AGESILAUS. 

Note. — Agesilaus  (Greek).  The  career  of  Agesilaus 
was  a  glorious  one.  He  was  past  four-score,  and 
had  reigned  more  than  #forty  years,  as  king  of 
Lacedasmon,  when  returning  from  his  campaign 
in  Egypt,  he  was  wrecked  off  the  coast  of  Libya 
and  perished  B.C.  360. 

Archidamus  II.,  King  of  Sparta,  left  two  sons, 
Agis  and  Agesilaus,  and  as  the  crown  by  law  was 
to  descend  to  Agis,  Agesilaus  only  had  the  edu- 
cation of  a  private  citizen,  which,  though  hard  in 
respect  of  diet,  and  full  of  laborious  exercises,  was 
well  calculated  to  teach  obedience  and  submis- 
sion to  the  laws.  He  was  lame  of  one  leg ;  but 
that  defect,  during  his  youth,  was  covered  by  the 
agreeable  turn  of  the  rest  of  his  person,  and  his 
easy  and  cheerful  manner.  He  would  not  suffer 
any  portrait  or  statue  of  him  to  be  made  while  he 
lived,  and  at  his  death  he  utterly  forbade  it.  We 
are  only  told  that  he  was  a  little  man,  and  that  he 
had  not  a  commanding  aspect.  But  a  perpetual 
vivacity  and  cheerfulness,  attended  with  a  talent 
for  raillery,  which  was  expressed  without  any  se- 
verity either  of  voice  or  look,  made  him  more 
agreeable,  even  in  age,  than  the  young  and  the 
handsome.  Theophrastus  tells  us,  the  ephori 
fined  Archidamus  for  marrying  a  little  woman. 
"She  will  bring  us,"  said  they,  "a  race  of  pigmies 
instead  of  kings. " 

Agis  died  young,  and  Agesilaus  then  gained  the 
diadem,  and  was  at  the  same  time  put  in  posses- 


134  THE    YOUTHS 

sion  of  his  brother's  private  estate.  He  was  very 
successful  as  a  soldier  till  sickness  compelled  his 
retirement,  and  it  is  universally  agreed  that  he 
saved  Sparta  by  controlling  his  native  passions  of 
obstinacy  and  ambition,  and  pursuing  no  measures 
but  what  were  safe.  He  could  not,  indeed,  restore 
the  city  to  her  former  glory  and  power.  The  con- 
stitution was  admirably  formed  for  peace,  for  vir- 
tue, and  harmony ;  but  when  they  wanted  to  add 
to  their  dominions  by  force  of  arms,  and  to  make 
acquisitions  which  Lycurgus  thought  unnecessary 
to  their  happiness,  the'y  split  upon  that  rock  he 
had  warned  them  to  avoid. 

Agesilaus  now  declined  the  service  on  account 
of  his  great  age.  He  died  in  Africa  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four,  of  which  he  had  reigned  forty-one  in 
Lacedsemon.  During  thirty  years  of  that  time  he 
made  the  greatest  figure,  both  as  to  reputation 
and  power,  being  looked  upon  as  commander-in- 
chief,  and,  as  it  were,  king  of  Greece,  till  the  bat- 
tle of  Leuctra. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  Spartans  to  bury  per- 
sons of  ordinary  rank  in  the  place  where  they 
expired,  when  they  happened  to  die,  as  Agesilaus 
did,  in  a  foreign  country,  but  to  carry  the  corpses 
of  the  kings  home  :  and  as  the  attendants  of  Age- 
silaus had  not  honey  to  preserve  the  body,  they 
embalmed  it  with  melted  wax,  and  so  conveyed  it 
to  Lacedaemon. 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  1 35 


POMPEY. 

Note. — Pompey  (Roman).  Pompey  was  born  106  b.c. 
A  full  account  of  his  remarkable  life  and  career  is 
given  in  the  sketch  which  follows.  His  treacher- 
ous assassination  in  Egypt  took  place  b.c.  48.  His 
head  was  cut  off  and  sent  to  Caesar,  who  shed 
tears  and  turned  away  at  the  sight. 

In  his  youth  Pompey  had  a  very  engaging  coun- 
tenance, which  spoke  for  him  before  he  opened 
his  lips.  Yet  that  grace  of  aspect  was  not  unat- 
tended with  dignity,  and  amidst  his  youthful 
bloom  there  was  a  venerable  and  princely  air. 
His  hair  curled  a  little  naturally  in  front,  which, 
together  with  the  shining  moisture  and  quick  turn 
of  his  eye,  produced  a  strong  likeness  of  Alexan- 
der the  Great. 

Having  made  considerable  progress  in  the  mili- 
tary art,  he  pleased  Sylla,  but  could  not  persuade 
him  to  grant  him  (Pompey)  a  triumph  for  his  vic- 
tories. Pompey  resented  this,  and  the  people 
supported  him.  When  Sylla  heard  that  Pompey 
had  revolted,  he  said  to  his  friends,  "  Then  it  is 
my  fate  to  have  to  contend  with  boys  in  my  old 
age."  When  he  observed  that  all  the  people 
flocked  out  to  receive  Pompey,  and  to  conduct 
him  home  with  marks  of  great  regard,  he  resolved 
to  exceed  them  in  his  regards  if  possible.  He 
therefore  hastened  to  meet  him,  and,  embracing 
him  in  the  most  affectionate  manner,  saluted  him 
aloud  by  the  surname  of  Magnus,  or  The  Great. 
At  the  same  time  he  ordered  all  about  him  to 


136  THE    YOUTH'S 

give  him  the  same  appellation.  In  this  respect 
we  may  justly  admire  the  wisdom  of  the  ancient 
Romans,  who  bestowed  on  their  great  men  such 
honorable  names  and  titles,  not  only  for  military 
achievements,  but  for  the  great  qualities  and  arts 
which  adorn  civil  life. 

Yet  when  Crassus  was  elected  consul  they  dis- 
agreed in  everything  and  were  embroiled  in  all 
their  measures.  Crassus  had  most  interest  with 
the  senate,  and  Pompey  with  the  people.  The 
most  agreeable  spectacle  to  the  people  was  Pom- 
pey himself,  when  he  went  to  claim  his  exemption 
from  serving  in  the  wars.  It  was  the  custom  for 
a  Roman  knight,  when  he  had  served  the  time 
ordered  by  law,  to  lead  his  horse  into  the  forum 
before  the  two  magistrates  called  censors,  and, 
after  having  given  account  of  the  generals  and 
other  officers  under  whom  he  had  made  his  cam- 
paigns, and  of  his  own  actions  in  them,  to  de- 
mand his  discharge.  On  these  occasions  they  re- 
ceived proper  marks  of  honor  or  disgrace,  according 
to  their  behavior. 

When  the  censors  had  taken  their  seats  to  re- 
view the  whole  equestrian  order,  Pompey  was 
seen  at  a  distance,  with  all  the  badges  of  his 
office  as  consul,  leading  his  horse  by  the  bridle. 
As  soon  as  he  was  near  enough  to  be  observed  by 
the  censors  he  ordered  his  lictors  to  make  an  open- 
ing, and  advanced  with  his  horse  in  hand  to  the 
foot  of  the  tribunal.  The  people  were  struck  with 
admiration,  and  a  profound  silence  ensued;  at 
the  same  time,  a  joy,   mingled  with  reverence, 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  137 

was  visible  in  the  countenance  of  the  censors. 
The  senior  censor  then  addressed  him  as  follows  : 
"Pompey  the  Great,  I  demand  of  you  whether  you 
have  served  all  the  campaigns  required  by  law  !" 
He  answered  with  a  loud  voice,  "I  have  served 
them  all,  and  all  under  myself  as  general."  The 
people  were  so  charmed  with  this  answer  that 
there  seemed  no  end  to  their  acclamations. 

About  this  time  the  pirates  had  become  very 
troublesome.  The  Romans  being  engaged  in 
civil  wars  at  the  very  gates  of  their  capital,  the 
sea  was  left  unguarded.  The  pirates  not  only  at- 
tacked ships,  but  islands  and  maritime  towns. 
Many  persons  distinguished  for  their  wealth,  their 
birth,  and  their  capacity,  embarked  with  them, 
and  assisted  in  their  depredations,  as  if  their  em- 
ployment had  been  worthy  the  ambition  of  men  of 
honor.  They  had  in  various  places  arsenals,  ports, 
and  watch-towers,  all  strongly  fortified.  Their 
fleets  were  not  only  extremely  well-manned,  sup- 
plied with  skilful  pilots,  and  fitted  for  their  busi- 
ness by  their  lightness  and  celerity,  but  there  was 
a  parade  of  vanity  about  them  more  mortifying 
than  their  strength,  in  gilded  sterns,  purple  can- 
opies, and  plated  oars,  as  if  they  took  a  pride  in 
their  villainy.  Music  resounded  and  drunken 
revels  were  exhibited  on  every  coast.  Here  gen- 
erals were  made  prisoners ;  there  the  cities  the 
pirates  had  taken  were  paying  their  ransom,  all 
to  the  great  disgrace  of  the  Roman  power.  The 
number  of  their  galleys  amounted  to  a  thousand, 
and  they  were  masters  of  four  hundred  cities. 


138  THE    YOUTH'S 

Their  power  extended  over  the  whole  Tuscan 
Sea,  so  that  the  Romans  found  their  trade  and 
navigation  entirely  cut  off ;  the  consequence  of 
which  was  that  their  markets  were  not  supplied, 
and  they  had  reason  to  apprehend  a  famine. 
This  at  last  suggested  their  sending  Pompey  to 
clear  the  sea  of  pirates.  In  pursuance  of  his 
charge  he  divided  the  whole  Mediterranean  into 
thirteen  parts,  appointing  a  lieutenant  for  each, 
and  assigning  him  a  squadron.  By  thus  station- 
ing his  fleets  in  all  quarters,  he  inclosed  the  pi- 
rates, as  it  were,  in  a  net,  took  great  numbers  of 
them,  and  brought  them  into  harbor.  Such  of 
their  vessels  as  had  dispersed  and  made  off  in 
time,  or  could  escape  the  general  chase,  retired  to 
Cilicia,  like  so  many  bees  into  a  hive.  Against 
these  he  proposed  to  go  himself  with  sixty  of  his 
best  galleys ;  but  first  he  resolved  to  clear  the 
Tuscan  Sea,  and  the  coasts  of  Africa,  Sardinia, 
Corsica,  and  Sicily,  of  all  piratical  adventurers, 
which  he  effected  in  forty  days. 

As  soon  as  the  people  were  informed  of  his  re- 
turn to  Rome  they  went  in  crowds  to  receive  him, 
in  the  same  manner  as  they  had  done  a  few  days 
before,  to  conduct  him  on  his  way.  Their  ex- 
traordinary joy  was  owing  to  the  speed  with 
which  he  had  executed  his  commission,  so  far  be- 
yond all  expectation,  and  to  the  superabundant 
plenty  which  reigned  in  the  markets. 

He  was  passionately  desirous  to  recover  Syria, 
and  passing  from  thence  through  Arabia,  to  pene- 
trate to  the  Red  Sea,  that  he  might  go  on  con- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  1 39 

quering  every  way  to  the  ocean  which  surrounds 
the  world.  In  Africa  he  was  the  first  whose  con- 
quests extended  to  the  Great  Sea ;  in  Spain  he 
stretched  the  Roman  dominions  to  the  Atlantic ; 
and  in  his  late  pursuit  of  the  Albanians  he  wanted 
but  little  of  reaching  the  Hyrcanian  Sea.  In 
order,  therefore,  to  take  the  Red  Sea  too  into  the 
circle  of  his  wars,  he  began  his  march,  the  rather 
because  he  saw  it  difficult  to  hunt  out  Mithridates 
with  a  regular  force,  and  that  he  was  much  harder 
to  deal  with  in  his  flight  than  in  battle.  For  this 
reason  he  said,  "He  would  leave  him  a  stronger 
enemy  than  the  Romans  to  cope  with,  which  was 
famine."  In  pursuance  of  this  intention  he  or- 
dered a  number  of  ships  to  cruise  about  and  pre- 
vent any  vessels  from  entering  the  Bosphorus 
with  provisions,  and  that  death  should  be  the 
punishment  for  such  as  were  taken  in  the  attempt. 

Proceeding  in  the  execution  of  his  plan,  he  sub- 
dued the  Arabians  about  Mount  Amanus  by  his 
lieutenant  Afranius,  and  descended  himself  into 
Syria,  which  he  converted  into  a  Roman  province, 
because  it  had  no  lawful  king.  He  reduced  Judea, 
and  took  its  king  Aristobulus  prisoner.  He 
founded  some  cities  and  set  others  free,  punishing 
the  tyrants  who  had  enslaved  them  ;  but  most  of 
his  time  was  spent  in  administering  justice,  and 
in  deciding  the  disputes  between  cities  and 
princes. 

Pompey  having  thus  brought  the  campaign  and 
the  whole  war  to  a  conclusion  so  happy,  and  so 
far  beyond  his  hopes,  immediately  quitted  Arabia, 


140  THE    YOUTHS 

traversed  the  provinces  between  that  and  Galatia 
with  great  rapidity,  and  soon  arrived  at  Amisus. 
There  he  found  many  presents  from  Pharnaces, 
and  several  corpses  of  the  royal  family,  among 
which  was  that  of  Mithridates.  The  face  of  that 
prince  could  not  be  easily  known,  because  the 
embalmers  had  not  taken  out  the  brain,  and  by 
the  corruption  of  that  the  features  were  disfigured. 
As  for  Pompey,  he  would  not  see  the  body,  but, 
to  propitiate  the  avenging  deity,  sent  it  to  Sinope. 
However,  he  looked  upon  and  admired  the  mag- 
nificence of  his  habit  and  the  size  and  beauty  of 
his  weapons. 

The  triumph  was  so  great  that,  though  it  was 
divided  into  two  days,  the  time  was  far  from  being 
sufficient  for  displaying  what  was  prepared  to  be 
carried  in  procession, — there  remained  still  enough 
to  adorn  another  triumph.  At  the  head  of  the 
show  appeared  the  titles  of  the  conquered  nations, 
— Pontus,  Armenia,  Cappadocia,  Paphlagonia, 
Media,  Colchis,  the  Iberians,  the  Albanians, 
Syria,  Cilicia,  Mesopotamia,  Phoenicia,  Palestine, 
Judea,  and  Arabia,  and  the  pirates  subdued  both 
by  sea  and  land.  In  these  countries  it  was  men- 
tioned that  there  were  not  less  than  a  thousand 
castles  and  near  nine  hundred  cities  taken,  eight 
hundred  galleys  taken  from  the  pirates,  and  thirty- 
nine  desolate  cities  repeopled.  On  the  face  of  the 
tablets  it  appeared  besides,  that  whereas  the 
revenues  of  the  Roman  Empire  before  these  con- 
quests amounted  but  to  fifty  millions  of  drachmas, 
by  the  new  acquisitions  they  were  advanced  to 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  141 

eighty-five  millions  ;  and  that  Pompey  had  brought 
into  the  public  treasury  in  money,  and  in  gold  and 
silver  vessels,  to  the  value  of  twenty  thousand 
talents,  besides  what  he  had  distributed  among 
the  soldiers,  of  whom  he  that  received  least  had 
fifteen  hundred  drachmas  to  his  share.  The  cap- 
tives who  walked  in  the  procession  (not  to  men- 
tion the  chiefs  of  the  pirates)  were — the  son  of 
Tigranes,  King  of  Armenia,  together  with  his 
wife  and  daughter  ;  Zosima,  the  wife  of  Tigranes 
himself;  Aristobulus,  King  of  Judea ;  the  sister 
of  Mithri dates,  with  her  five  sons;  and  some 
Scythian  women.  The  hostages  of  the  Albanians 
and  Iberians,  and  of  the  King  of  Commagene,  also 
appeared  in  the  train. 

But  the  most  honorable  circumstance,  and  what 
no  other  Roman  could  boast,  was  that  his  first 
triumph  was  over  Africa,  his  second  over  Europe, 
and  his  third  over  Asia ;  so  that  the  three  seemed 
to  declare  him  conqueror  over  the  world. 

In  the  meantime  the  wars  in  Gaul  lifted  Caesar 
to  the  first  sphere  of  greatness.  The  scene  of 
action  was  at  a  great  distance  from  Rome,  and  he 
seemed  to  be  wholly  engaged  with  the  Belgae, 
the  Suevi,  and  the  Britons ;  but  his  genius  all  the 
while  was  privately  at  work  among  the  people  of 
Rome,  and  he  was  undermining  Pompey  in  his 
most  essential  interests.  The  gold  and  silver  and 
other  rich  spoils  which  he  took  from  the  enemy  in 
great  abundance  he  sent  to  Rome,  and  by  dis- 
tributing them  freely  among  the  aediles,  praetors, 
consuls,  and  their  wives,  he  gained  a  great  part)'. 


142  THE    YOUTH  S 

Consequently,  when  he  passed  the  Alps  and 
wintered  at  Lucca,  among  the  crowd  of  men  and 
women  who  hastened  to  pay  their  respects  to  him 
there  were  two  hundred  senators,  Pompey  and 
Crassus  of  the  number.  Caesar  entered  into  a 
treaty  with  Crassus  and  Pompey,  by  which  it  was 
agreed  that  they  should  apply  for  the  consulship, 
and  that  he  should  assist  them  by  sending  a  great 
number  of  his  soldiers  to  vote  at  the  election. 
As  soon  as  they  were  chosen  they  were  to  share 
the  provinces  and  take  the  command  of  armies 
according  to  their  pleasure,  only  confirming  Caesar 
in  the  possession  of  what  he  had  for  five  years 
more. 

Crassus,  upon  the  expiration  of  his  consulship, 
repaired  to  his  province.  Pompey,  remaining  at 
Rome,  opened  his  theater,  and,  to  make  the  dedi- 
cation more  magnificent,  exhibited  a  variety  of 
gymnastic  games,  entertainments  of  music,  and 
battles  with  wild  beasts,  in  which  were  killed  five 
hundred  lions  ;  but  the  battle  of  elephants  afforded 
the  most  astonishing  spectacle. 

Pompey  then  went  into  the  city  and  married 
Cornelia,  the  daughter  of  Metellus  Scipio.  She 
was  a  widow,  having  been  married  when  very 
young  to  Publius,  the  son  of  Crassus,  who  was 
lately  killed  in  the  Parthian  expedition.  This 
woman  had  many  charms  beside  her  beauty.  She 
was  well  versed  in  polite  literature  ;  she  played 
upon  the  lyre,  and  understood  geometry  ;  and  she 
had  made  considerable  improvements  by  the  pre- 
cepts of  philosophy.     What  is  more,  she  had  noth- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  I43 

ing  of  that  petulance  and  affectation  which  such 
studies  are  apt  to  produce  in  women  of  her  age. 

Being  again  elected  consul,  his  first  step  was  to 
bring  those  to  account  who  had  gained  offices  and 
employments  by  bribery  and  corruption,  and  he 
made  laws  by  which  the  proceedings  in  their  trials 
were  to  be  regulated.  He  behaved  with  great 
dignity  and  honor,  and  restored  security,  order, 
and  tranquillity  to  the  courts  of  judicature  by  pre- 
siding there  in  person  with  a  band  of  soldiers. 
But  when  Scipio,  his  father-in-law,  came  to  be 
impeached,  he  sent  for  the  three  hundred  and 
sixty  judges  to  his  house  and  desired  their  assist- 
ance. The  accuser,  seeing  Scipio  conducted  out 
of  the  forum  to  his  house  by  the  judges  them- 
selves, dropped  the  prosecution.  This  again  ex- 
posed Pompey  to  censure  ;  but  he  was  censured 
still  more  when,  after  having  made  a  law  against 
encomiums  on  persons  accused,  he  broke  it  him- 
self by  appearing  for  Plancus,  and  attempting  to 
embellish  his  character.  Cato,  who  happened  to 
be  one  of  the  judges,  stopped  his  ears,  declaring, 
"It  was  not  right  for  him  to  hear  such  embellish- 
ments contrary  to  the  law."  Cato,  therefore,  was 
objected  to  and  set  aside  before  sentence  was 
passed.  Plancus,  however,  was  condemned  by 
the  other  judges,  to  the  great  confusion  of  Pom- 
pey. 

The  rupture  between  Caesar  and  Pompey  was 
now  complete,  but  the  latter  expressed  no  fear ; 
and  when  the  citizens  said  that  if  Csesar  should 
advance  on  Rome  in  a  hostile  manner  they  did 


144  THE    YOUTH  S 

not  see  what  forces  they  had  to  oppose  him,  Pom- 
pey,  with  a  smile,  bade  them  give  themselves  no 
concern,  for,  said  he,  "If  in  Italy  I  do  but  stamp 
upon  the  ground  an  army  will  appear. " 

Caesar,  however,  was  exerting  himself  greatly ; 
and  the  quarrel  having  come  before  the  senate, 
Marcellus,  the  consul,  called  Caesar  a  public  rob- 
ber, and  insisted  that  he  should  be  declared  an  ene- 
my to  the  State  if  he  did  not  lay  down  his  arms. 
However,  Curio,  together  with  Antony  and  Piso, 
prevailed  that  a  further  inquiry  should  be  made 
into  the  sense  of  the  senate.  He  first  proposed 
that  such  as  were  of  opinion  "that  Caesar  should 
disband  his  army  and  Pompey  keep  his,"  should 
draw  to  one  side  of  the  house  ;  and  there  appeared 
a  majority  for  that  motion.  Then  he  proposed 
that  the  number  of  those  should  be  taken  whose 
sense  it  was  "that  both  should  lay  down  their 
arms,  and  neither  remain  in  command;"  upon 
which  question  Pompey  had  only  twenty-two,  and 
Curio  all  the  rest.  Curio,  proud  of  his  victory, 
ran  in  transports  of  joy  to  the  assembly  of  the 
people,  who  received  him  with  the  loudest  plau- 
dits, and  crowned  him  with  flowers.  Pompey 
was  not  present  at  the  debate  in  the  house  ;  for  the 
commander  of  an  army  is  not  allowed  to  enter  the 
city.  But  Marcellus  rose  up  and  said,  "I  will  no 
longer  sit  to  hear  the  matter  canvassed  ;  but,  as  I 
see  ten  legions  have  already  passed  the  Alps,  I 
will  send  a  man  to  oppose  them  in  behalf  of  my 
country. " 

At  the  same  time  news  was  brought  that  Caesar 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  145 

had  seized  Ariminum,  a  considerable  city  in  Italy, 
and  that  he  was  marching  directly  toward  Rome 
with  all  his  forces.  The  last  circumstance,  in- 
deed, was  not  true.  He  advanced  with  only  three 
hundred  horse  and  five  thousand  foot ;  the  rest  of 
his  forces  were  on  the  other  side  the  Alps  and  he 
would  not  wait  for  them,  choosing  rather  to  put 
his  adversaries  in  confusion  by  a  sudden  and  un- 
expected attack,  than  to  fight  them  when  better 
prepared.  When  he  came  to  the  river  Rubicon, 
which  was  the  boundary  of  his  province,  he  stood 
silent  a  long  time,  weighing  with  himself  the 
greatness  of  his  enterprise.  At  last,  like  one  who 
plunges  down  from  the  top  of  a  precipice  into  a 
gulf  of  immense  depth,  he  silenced  his  reason, 
and  shut  his  eyes  against  the  danger,  and  crying 
out,  "The  die  is  cast,"  he  marched  over  with  his 
army. 

Upon  the  first  report  of  this  at  Rome  the  city 
was  in  greater  disorder  and  astonishment  than 
had  ever  been  known.  The  senate  and  the  magis- 
trates ran  immediately  to  Pompey.  Tullus  asked 
him  what  forces  he  had  ready  for  the  war,  and  as 
he  hesitated  in  his  answer,  and  only  said  at  last, 
in  a  tone  of  no  great  assurance,  "That  he  had  the 
two  legions  lately  sent  him  back  by  Caesar,  and 
that  out  of  the  new  levies  he  believed  he  should 
shortly  be  able  to  make  up  a  body  of  thirty  thou- 
sand men,"  Tullus  exclaimed,  "O  Pompey,  you 
have  deceived  us  !"  and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
ambassadors  should  immediately  be  dispatched 
to  Caesar.  Then  one  Favonius,  a  man  otherwise 
10 


146  THE    YOUTH'S 

of  no  ill  character,  but  who,  by  an  insolent  brutal- 
ity, affected  to  imitate  the  noble  freedom  of  Cato, 
bade  Pompey  "stamp  upon  the  ground,  and  call 
for  the  armies  he  had  promised." 

Cato  then  advised  that  Pompey  should  not  only 
be  appointed  general,  but  invested  with  a  discre- 
tionary power,  adding,  "That  those  who  were  the 
authors  of  great  evils  knew  best  how  to  cure 
them."  Pompey,  at  last,  as  he  could  get  no  cer- 
tain intelligence  of  Caesar's  motions,  caused  an 
edict  to  be  issued  declaring  the  commonwealth  in 
danger  and  no  peace  to  be  expected.  He  told 
those  who  wished  to  remain  in  the  city  that  he 
should  consider  them  as  partisans  of  Caesar,  and 
he  and  the  consuls  all  fled. 

A  few  days  after  Caesar  arrived  at  Rome. 
When  he  was  in  possession  of  the  city  he  behaved 
with  great  moderation,  and  composed  in  a  good 
measure  the  minds  of  its  remaining  inhabitants. 
Only  when  Metellus,  one  of  the  tribunes  of  the 
people,  forbade  him  to  touch  the  money  in  the 
public  treasury,  he  threatened  him  with  death, 
adding  an  expression  more  terrible  than  the  threat 
itself,  "That  it  was  easier  for  him  to  do  it  than 
to  say  it."  Metellus  being  thus  frightened  off, 
Caesar  took  what  sums  he  wanted,  and  then  went 
in  pursuit  of  Pompey,  hastening  to  drive  him  out 
of  Italy  before  his  forces  could  arrive  from  Spain. 

Pompey,  who  was  master  of  Brundusium,  and 
had  a  sufficient  number  of  transports,  desired  the 
consuls  to  embark  without  loss  of  time,  and  sent 
them  before  him  with  thirty  cohorts  to  Dyrrha- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  147 

chium.  At  the  same  time  he  sent  his  father-in- 
law,  Scipio,  and  his  son,  Cnaeus,  into  Syria  to  pro- 
vide ships  of  war.  He  had  well  secured  the  gates 
of  the  city,  and  planted  the  lightest  of  his  slingers 
and  archers  upon  the  walls ;  and  having  now 
ordered  the  Brundusians  to  keep  within  doors,  he 
caused  a  number  of  trenches  to  be  cut,  and  sharp 
stakes  to  be  driven  into  them,  and  then  covered 
with  earth,  in  all  the  streets  except  two  which  led 
down  to  the  sea.  In  three  days  all  his  other  troops 
were  embarked  without  interruption,  and  then  he 
suddenly  gave  the  signal  to  those  who  guarded 
the  walls,  in  consequence  of  which  they  ran  swiftly 
down  to  the  harbor  and  got  on  board.  Thus,  hav- 
ing his  whole  complement,  he  set  sail  and  crossed 
the  sea  to  Dyrrhachium. 

When  Caesar  came  and  saw  the  walls  left  desti- 
tute of  defense  he  concluded  that  Pompey  had 
taken  to  flight,  and  in  his  eagerness  to  pursue 
would  certainly  have  fallen  upon  the  sharp  stakes 
in  the  trenches,  had  not  the  Brundusians  informed 
him  of  them.  He  then  avoided  the  streets  and 
took  a  circuit  round  the  town,  by  which  he  dis- 
covered that  all  the  vessels  were  set  out  except  two 
that  had  not  many  soldiers  aboard. 

This  manceuver  of  Pompey  was  commonly 
reckoned  among  his  greatest  acts  of  generalship. 
Caesar  having  thus  made  himself  master  of  all 
Italy  in  sixty  days  without  the  least  bloodshed, 
marched  to  Spain  with  the  intention  of  gaining 
forces  there.  This  he  did,  and  incorporated  the 
troops  with  his  own. 


I48  THE    YOUTH'S 

In  the  meantime  Pompey  assembled  a  great 
army,  and  at  sea  he  was  altogether  invincible  ;  for 
he  had  five  hundred  ships  of  war,  and  the  number 
of  his  lighter  vessels  was  still  greater.  As  for 
his  land  forces,  he  had  seven  thousand  horse,  the 
flower  of  Rome  and  Italy,  all  men  of  family,  for- 
tune, and  courage.  His  infantry,  though  numer- 
ous, was  a  mixture  of  raw  undisciplined  soldiers. 
He  therefore  exercised  them  during  his  stay  at 
Bercea,  where  he  was  by  no  means  idle,  but  went 
through  all  the  exercises  of  a  soldier  as  if  he  had 
been  in  the  flower  of  his  age.  It  inspired  his 
troops  with  new  courage  when  they  saw  Pompey 
the  Great,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight,  going  through 
the  whole  military  discipline  in  heavy  armor  on 
foot,  and  then  mounting  his  horse,  drawing  his 
sword  with  ease  when  at  full  speed,  and  as  dex- 
terously sheathing  it  again.  As  to  the  javelin,  he 
threw  it  not  only  with  great  exactness,  but  with 
such  force  that  few  of  the  young  men  could  dart  it 
to  a  greater  distance. 

Many  kings  and  princes  repaired  to  his  camp, 
and  the  number  of  Roman  officers  who  had  com- 
manded armies  was  so  great  that  it  was  sufficient 
to  make  up  a  complete  senate.  Labienus,  who 
had  been  honored  with  Caesar's  friendship,  and 
served  under  him  in  Gaul,  now  joined  Pompey. 
On  the  other  hand,  Caesar  was  reduced  to  such 
straits  both  by  sea  and  land  that  he  was  under  the 
necessity  of  seeking  a  battle.  Accordingly,  he 
attacked  Pompey's  intrenchments  and  bade  him 
defiance    daily.     In   most  of    these    attacks   and 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  149 

skirmishes  he  had  the  advantage,  but  one  day  he 
was  in  danger  of  losing  his  whole  army.  Pompey 
fought  with  so  much  valor  that  he  put  Caesar's 
whole  detachment  to  flight,  after  having  killed 
two  thousand  of  them  upon  the  spot,  but  was  either 
unable  or  afraid  to  pursue  his  blow  and  enter 
their  camp  with  them.  Caesar  said  to  his  friends 
on  the  occasion,  "This  day  the  victory  had  been 
the  enemy's  had  their  general  known  how  to  con- 
quer. " 

Pompey's  troops,  elated  with  this  success,  were 
in  great  haste  to  come  to  a  decisive  battle.  Nay, 
Pompey  himself  seemed  to  give  in  to  their  opin- 
ions by  writing  to  the  kings,  the  generals,  and 
cities  in  his  interest  in  the  style  of  a  conqueror. 
Yet  all  this  while  he  dreaded  the  issue  of  a  general 
action,  believing  it  much  better  by  length  of  time, 
by  famine  and  fatigue,  to  tire  out  men  who  had 
been  ever  invincible  in  arms,  and  long  accustomed 
to  conquer  when  they  fought  together.  Besides, 
he  knew  the  infirmities  of  age  had  made  them  un- 
fit for  the  other  operations  of  war, — for  long 
marches  and  countermarches,  for  digging  trenches 
and  building  forts,  and  that,  therefore,  they  wished 
for  nothing  so  much  as  a  battle.  Pompey,  with 
all  these  arguments,  found  it  no  easy  matter  to 
keep  his  army  quiet. 

Caesar  was  preparing  to  march  to  Scotusa  when 
his  scouts  brought  intelligence  that  they  had  seen 
arms  handed  about  in  the  enemy's  camp,  and  per- 
ceived a  noise  and  bustle,  which  indicated  an 
approaching  battle.     After  these  others  came  and 


150  THE    YOUTH'S 

assured  him  that  the  first  ranks  were  drawn  up. 
Upon  this  Caesar  said,  "The  long- wished  day  is 
come  on  which  we  shall  fight  with  men,  and  not 
with  want  and  famine."  Then  he  immediately 
ordered  the  red  mantle  to  be  put  up  before  his 
pavilion,  which,  among  the  Romans,  is  the  signal 
of  a  battle.  The  soldiers  no  sooner  beheld  it  than 
they  left  their  tents  as  they  were,  and  ran  to  arms 
with  loud  shouts  and  every  expression  of  joy ;  and 
when  the  officers  began  to  put  them  in  order  of 
battle,  each  man  fell  into  his  proper  rank  as  quietly 
and  with  as  much  skill  and  ease  as  a  chorus  in  a 
tragedy. 

Some  of  the  principal  Romans  and  Greeks  who 
only  stood  and  looked  on  when  the  dreadful 
moment  of  action  approached,  could  not  help  con- 
sidering to  what  the  avarice  and  ambition  of  two 
men  had  brought  the  Roman  Empire.  The  same 
arms  on  both  sides,  the  troops  marshaled  in  the 
same  manner,  the  same  standards ;  in  short,  the 
strength  and  flower  of  one  and  the  same  city  turned 
upon  itself !  What  could  be  a  stronger  proof  of 
the  blindness  and  infatuation  of  human  nature 
when  carried  away  by  its  passions?  Had  they 
been  willing  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  labors  in 
peace  and  tranquillity,  the  greatest  and  best  part 
of  the  world  was  their  own.  Or,  if  they  must  have 
indulged  their  thirst  of  victories  and  triumphs, 
the  Parthians  and  Germans  were  yet  to  be  sub- 
dued, Scythia  and  India  yet  remained ;  together 
with  a  very  plausible  color  for  the  lust  of  new 
acquisitions,  the  pretence  of  civilizing  the  barba- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  151 

rians.  And  what  Scythian  horse,  what  Parthian 
arrows,  what  Indian  treasures,  could  have  resisted 
seventy  thousand  Romans  led  on  by  Pompey  and 
Caesar,  with  whose  names  those  nations  had  long 
been  acquainted? 

The  plain  of  Pharsalia  was  now  covered  with 
men  and  horses  and  arms,  and  the  signal  of  battle 
being  given  on  both  sides,  the  first  on  Caesar's  side 
who  advanced  to  the  charge  was  Caius  Crastinus, 
who  commanded  a  corps  of  a  hundred  and  twenty 
men,  and  was  determined  to  make  good  his  prom- 
ise to  his  general.  He  was  the  first  man  Caesar 
saw  when  he  went  out  of  the  trenches  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  upon  Caesar's  asking  him  what  he  thought 
of  the  battle,  he  stretched  out  his  hand  and 
answered  in  a  cheerful  tone,  "You  will  gain  a 
glorious  victory,  and  I  shall  have  your  praise  this 
day  either  alive  or  dead. "  In  pursuance  of  this 
promise  he  advanced  the  foremost,  and  many 
following  to  support  him,  he  charged  into  the 
midst  of  the  enemy.  They  soon  took  to  their 
swords,  and  numbers  were  slain  ;  but  as  Crastinus 
was  making  his  way  forward,  and  cutting  down 
all  before  him,  one  of  Pompey 's  men  stood  to  re- 
ceive him,  and  pushed  his  sword  in  at  his  mouth 
with  such  force  that  it  went  through  the  nape  of 
his  neck.  Crastinus  thus  killed,  the  fight  was 
maintained  with  equal  advantage  on  both  sides. 

Pompey  did  not  immediately  bring  on  his  right 
wing,  but  often  directed  his  eyes  to  the  left,  and 
lost  time  in  waiting  to  see  what  execution  his 
cavalry  would  do  there.       Meanwhile,  they  had 


I52  THE    YOUTH'S 

extended  their  squadrons  to  surround  Caesar,  and 
prepared  to  drive  the  few  horse  he  had  placed  in 
front  back  upon  the  foot.  At  that  instant  Caesar 
gave  the  signal,  upon  which  his  cavalry  retreated 
a  little,  and  six  cohorts,  which  consisted  of  three 
thousand  men,  and  had  been  placed  behind  the 
tenth  legion,  advanced  to  surround  Pompey's 
cavalry,  and  coming  close  up  to  them  raised  the 
points  of  their  javelins  as  they  had  been  taught, 
and  aimed  them  at  the  face.  Their  adversaries, 
who  were  not  experienced  in  any  kind  of  fighting, 
and  had  not  the  least  previous  idea  of  this,  could 
not  parry  or  endure  the  blows  upon  their  faces, 
but  turned  their  backs  or  covered  their  eyes  with 
their  hands,  and  soon  fled  with  great  dishonor. 
Caesar's  men  took  no  care  to  pursue  them,  but 
turned  their  force  upon  the  enemy's  infantry,  par- 
ticularly upon  that  wing  which,  now  stripped  of 
its  horse,  lay  open  to  the  attack  on  all  sides.  The 
six  cohorts,  therefore,  took  them  in  flank,  while 
the  tenth  legion  charged  them  in  front ;  and  they 
who  had  hoped  to  surround  the  enemy,  and  now 
instead  of  that  saw  themselves  surrounded,  made 
but  a  short  resistance,  and  then  took  to  a  precipi- 
tate flight. 

By  the  great  dust  that  was  raised,  Pompey  saw 
the  fate  of  his  cavalry,  and  it  is  hard  to  say  what 
passed  in  his  mind  at  that  moment.  He  appeared 
like  a  man  moon-struck  and  distracted.  When  he 
had  got  at  a  little  distance  from  the  camp  he  quitted 
his  horse.  He  had  very  few  people  about  him, 
and  as  he  saw  he  was  not  pursued  he  went  softly 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  153 

on,  wrapt  up  in  such  thoughts  as  we  may  suppose 
a  man  to  have  who  had  been  used  for  thirty-four 
years  to  conquer  and  carry  all  before  him,  and 
now  in  his  old  age  first  came  to  know  what  it  was 
to  be  defeated  and  to  fly.  We  may  easily  con- 
jecture what  his  thoughts  must  have  been,  when 
in  one  short  hour  he  had  lost  the  glory  and  the 
power  which  had  been  growing  up  amidst  so  many 
wars  and  conflicts ;  and  he  who  was  lately 
guarded  with  such  armies  of  horse  and  foot,  and 
such  great  and  powerful  fleets,  was  reduced  to  so 
mean  and  contemptible  an  equipage  that  his  ene- 
mies who  were  in  search  of  him  could  not  know  him. 

Pompey  took  refuge  in  Egypt,  but  Ptolemy  and 
his  council  were  perplexed  to  know  what  to  do 
with  him.  They  were  divided  in  their  opinions, 
some  advising  the  prince  to  give  him  an  honor- 
able reception,  and  others  to  send  him  an  order  to 
depart.  But  Theodotus,  to  display  his  eloquence, 
insisted  that  both  were  wrong.  "If  you  receive 
him,"  said  he,  "you  will  have  Caesar  for  your 
enemy,  and  Pompey  for  your  master.  If  you 
order  him  off,  Pompey  may  one  day  revenge  the 
affront,  and  Caesar  resent  your  not  having  put  him 
in  his  hands.  The  best  method,  therefore,  is  to 
put  him  to  death.  By  this  means  you  will  do 
Caesar  a  favor,  and  have  nothing  to  fear  from 
Pompey."  He  added,  with  a  smile,  "Dead  men 
do  not  bite. " 

This  advice  was  followed,  and  Pompey  was 
assassinated  as  he  was  landing  from  his  galley. 
He  was  just  59  years  old. 


154  THE    YOUTHS 


ALEXANDER. 

Note. — Alexander  (Macedonian).  Alexander  was 
born  b.c.  356.  His  life  forms  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  and  no  biography  can  be  more 
enthralling  and  instructive  than  that  which  fol- 
lows. His  death,  in  his  thirty-third  year,  was  due 
to  inordinate  excess  in  wine-drinking. 

This  famous  general  was  descended  from  Her- 
cules. His  father  was  Philip,  King  of  Macedonia, 
and  his  mother's  name  was  Olympias. 

The  statues  of  Alexander  that  most  resemble 
him  were  those  of  Lysippus,  who  alone  had  his 
permission  to  represent  him  in  marble.  The  turn 
of  his  head,  which  leaned  a  little  to  one  side,  and 
the  quickness  of  his  eye,  in  which  many  of  his 
friends  and  successors  most  affected  to  imitate 
him,  were  best  hit  off  by  that  artist.  Apelles 
painted  him  in  the  character  of  Jupiter  armed 
with  thunder,  but  did  not  succeed  as  to  his  com- 
plexion. He  overcharged  the  coloring,  and  made 
his  skin  too  brown ;  whereas  he  was  fair,  with  a 
tinge  of  red  in  his  face  and  upon  his  breast.  We 
read  that  a  most  agreeable  scent  proceeded  from 
his  skin,  and  that  his  breath  and  whole  body  were 
fragrant.  There  was  something  superlatively 
great  and  sublime  in  his  ambition  far  above  his 
years.  It  was  not  all  sorts  of  honor  that  he 
courted,  nor  did  he  seek  it  in  every  track  like  his 
father  Philip,  who  was  as  proud  of  his  eloquence 
as  any  sophist  could  be,  and  who  had  the  vanity 
to  record  his  victories  in  the  Olympic  chariot  race 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  155 

in  the  impression  of  his  coins.  Alexander,  on  the 
other  hand,  when  he  was  asked  by  some  of  the 
people  about  him,  "Whether  he  would  not  run  in 
the  Olympic  race?"  (for  he  was  swift  of  foot), 
answered,  "  Yes,  if  I  had  kings  for  my  antagonists. " 
It  appears  that  he  had  a  perfect  aversion  to  the 
whole  exercise  of  wrestling;  for  though  he  ex- 
hibited many  other  sorts  of  games  and  public 
diversions  in  which  he  proposed  prizes  for  tragic 
poets,  for  musicians  who  practised  upon  the  flute 
and  lyre,  and  for  rhapsodists  too,— though  he 
entertained  the  people  with  the  hunting  of  all 
manner  of  wild  beasts,  and  with  fencing  or  fighting 
with  the  staff,— yet  he  gave  no  encouragement  to 
boxing  or  to  wrestling. 

When  a  young  horse,  named  Bucephalus,  was 
offered  for  sale  to  Philip  at  the  price  of  thirteen 
talents,  the  king,  with  the  prince,  and  many 
others,  went  into  the  field  to  see  some  trial  made 
of  him.  The  horse  appeared  extremely  vicious 
and  unmanageable,  and  Philip  was  displeased  at 
their  bringing  him  so  wild  and  ungovernable  a 
horse,  and  bade  them  take  him  away.  But  Alex- 
ander, who  had  observed  him  well,  said,  "What  a 
horse  are  they  losing  for  want  of  skill  and  spirit 
to  manage  him  !"  Philip  at  first  took  no  notice  of 
this,  but  upon  the  prince's  often  repeating  the 
same  expression,  and  showing  great  uneasiness, 
he  said,  "Young  man,  you  find  fault  with  your 
elders  as  if  you  knew  more  than  they,  or  could 
manage  the  horse  better."  "And  I  certainly 
could,"  answered  the  prince.     "If  you  should  not 


156  THE    YOUTH'S 

be  able  to  ride  him,  what  forfeiture  will  you  sub- 
mit to  for  your  rashness?"  "I  will  pay  the  price 
of  the  horse,"  said  Alexander. 

Upon  this  all  the  company  laughed,  but  the 
king  and  prince  agreeing  as  to  the  forfeiture, 
Alexander  ran  to  the  horse,  and,  laying  hold  on 
the  bridle,  turned  him  to  the  sun,  for  he  had 
observed,  it  seems,  that  the  shadow,  which  fell 
before  the  horse,  and  continually  moved  as  he 
moved,  greatly  disturbed  him.  While  his  fierce- 
ness and  fury  lasted  he  kept  speaking  to  him  softly 
and  stroking  him  ;  after  which  he  gently  let  fall 
his  mantle,  leaped  lightly  upon  his  back,  and  got 
a  safe  seat.  Then,  without  pulling  the  reins  too 
hard,  or  using  either  whip  or  spur,  he  set  him 
going.  As  soon  as  he  perceived  his  uneasiness 
abated,  and  that  he  wanted  only  to  run,  he  put 
him  to  a  full  gallop,  and  pushed  him  on  both  with 
the  voice  and  the  spur.  Philip  and  all  his  court 
were  in  great  distress  for  him  at  first,  and  a 
profound  silence  ensued.  But  when  the  prince 
had  turned  him,  and  brought  him  straight  back, 
they  all  received  him  with  loud  acclamations  ex- 
cept his  father,  who  wept  for  joy,  and  kissing  him, 
said,  "Seek  another  kingdom,  my  son,  that  may 
be  worthy  of  thy  abilities,  for  Macedonia  is  too 
small  for  thee. " 

Alexander  loved  polite  learning,  and  his  thirst 
for  knowledge  made  him  a  man  of  extensive  read- 
ing. He  called  the  Iliad  of  Homer  a  portable 
treasury  of  military  knowledge,  and  he  had  a  copy 
of  the  work  corrected  by  Aristotle,  which  he  used 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  15  7 

to  lay  beside  his  sword  under  his  pillow.  When 
Philip  went  on  the  expedition  to  Byzantium,  Alex- 
ander was  but  sixteen  years  of  age,  but  he  was 
left  Regent  of  Macedonia  and  Keeper  of  the  Seal. 

Philip  was  assassinated  when  Alexander  was 
twenty  years  old.  On  succeeding  to  the  crown  he 
found  the  kingdom  torn  in  pieces  by  dangerous 
parties.  Having  intelligence  that  the  Thebans 
and  Athenians  had  revolted,  he  resolved  to  show 
them  that  he  was  no  longer  a  boy,  and  he  imme- 
diately advanced  through  the  Pass  of  Thermopylae. 
Said  he,  "Demosthenes  called  me  a  boy  while  I 
was  in  Illyrium,  and  a  stripling  when  in  Thessaly, 
but  I  will  show  him  before  the  walls  of  Athens 
that  I  am  a  man."  Thebes  was  taken,  and  the 
city  plundered  and  leveled  with  the  ground. 

A  general  assembly  of  the  Greeks  being  held  at 
the  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  they  came  to  a  resolution 
to  send  their  quotas  with  Alexander  against 
Darius,  king  of  the  Persians,  and  he  was  unani- 
mously elected  captain-general.  Finding  that 
Diogenes  made  but  little  account  of  Alexander, 
and  that  he  preferred  the  enjoyment  of  his  leisure 
in  a  part  of  the  suburbs  called  Cranium,  he  went 
to  see  him.  Diogenes  happened  to  be  lying  in  the 
sun,  and,  at  the  approach  of  so  many  people,  he 
raised  himself  up  a  little  and  fixed  his  eyes  upon 
Alexander.  The  king  addressed  him  in  an  oblig- 
ing manner,  and  asked  him  "if  there  was  anything 
he  could  serve  him  in?"  "Only  stand  a  little  out 
of  my  sunshine,"  said  Diogenes.  Alexander,  we 
are  told,  was  struck  with  such  surprise  at  finding 


158  THE    YOUTH'S 

himself  so  little  regarded,  and  saw  something  so 
great  in  that  carelessness,  that,  while  his  courtiers 
were  ridiculing  the  philosopher  as  a  monster,  he 
said,  "If  I  were  not  Alexander  I  should  wish  to 
be  Diogenes." 

In  the  meantime  Darius'  generals  had  collected 
a  great  army  on  the  banks  of  the  Granicus.  Many 
of  Alexander's  officers  were  afraid  that  the  river 
was  too  deep  to  ford,  but  Alexander  led  the  way, 
and  managed  to  struggle  across,  and  fought  his 
way  up  the  opposite  bank.  His  army  followed 
and  defeated  the  barbarians.  They  lost  in  this 
battle  twenty  thousand  foot  and  two  thousand  five 
hundred  horse ;  whereas  Alexander  had  no  more 
than  thirty-four  men  killed,  nine  of  whom  were 
infantry.  To  do  honor  to  their  memory  he  erected 
a  statue  to  each  of  them  in  brass,  the  workman- 
ship of  Lysippus.  And  that  the  Greeks  might  have 
their  share  in  the  glory  of  the  day,  he  sent  them 
presents  out  of  the  spoil.  To  the  Athenians  in 
particular  he  sent  three  hundred  bucklers.  Upon 
the  rest  of  the  spoils  he  put  this  pompous  inscrip- 
tion :  "  Won  by  Alexander,  the  son  of  Philip, 
and  the  Greeks  {excepting  the  Laced&monians) 
of  the  barbarians  in  Asia"  The  greatest  part  of 
the  plate,  the  purple  furniture,  and  other  things 
of  that  kind  which  he  took  from  the  Persians,  he 
sent  to  his  mother. 

His  next  acquisitions  were  Paphlagonia  and 
Cappadocia.  By  this  time  Darius  had  taken  his 
departure  from  Susa,  full  of  confidence  in  his 
numbers  ;  for  his  army  consisted  of  six  hundred 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  159 

thousand  men.  Alexander's  progress  was  stayed 
by  sickness.  His  physicians  durst  not  give  him 
any  medicines,  because  they  thought  themselves 
not  so  certain  of  the  cure  as  of  the  clanger  they 
must  incur  in  the  application.  Philip,  the  Acar- 
nanian,  attempted  the  cure,  and  found  no  difficulty 
in  persuading  the  king  to  wait  with  patience  till 
his  medicine  was  prepared. 

In  the  mean  time,  Parmenio  sent  him  a  letter 
from  the  camp,  advising  him  "to  beware  of  Philip, 
whom,"  he  said,  "Darius  had  prevailed  upon,  by 
presents  of  infinite  value,  and  the  promise  of  his 
daughter  in  marriage,  to  take  him  off  by  poison." 
As  soon  as  Alexander  had  read  the  letter  he  put 
it  under  his  pillow,  without  showing  it  to  any  of 
his  friends.  The  time  appointed  being  come, 
Philip,  with  the  king's  friends,  entered  the  cham- 
ber, having  the  cup  which  contained  the  medicine 
in  his  hand.  The  king  received  it  freely  without 
the  least  marks  of  suspicion,  and  at  the  same 
time  put  the  letter  in  Philip's  hands.  It  was  a 
striking  situation,  and  more  interesting  than  any 
scene  in  a  tragedy,— the  one  reading  while  the 
other  was  drinking.  They  looked  upon  each 
other,  but  with  a  very  different  air.  The  king, 
with  an  open  and  unembarrassed  countenance, 
expressed  his  regard  for  Philip,  and  the  confi- 
dence he  had  in  his  honor;  Philip's  look  showed 
his  indignation  at  the  calumny. 

The  medicine,  indeed,  was  so  strong,  and  over- 
powered his  spirits  in  such  a  manner,  that  at  first 
he  was  speechless,  but  he  was  soon  relieved,  and 


l6o  THE    YOUTH'S 

his  faithful  physician  had  the  gratification  of  see- 
ing his  patient  well  enough  to  march  against 
Darius,  and  also  to  conquer  him.  The  victory 
was  a  very  signal  one,  for  Alexander  killed  one 
hundred  and  ten  thousand  of  the  enemy,  and 
nothing  was  wanted  to  complete  it  but  the  cap- 
ture of  Darius.  That  prince,  however,  escaped, 
leaving  his  wife  and  family  captives.  They  were 
kindly  and  honorably  treated  by  the  conqueror. 

After  this  Alexander  had  some  rest,  and  en- 
joyed his  leisure.  He  was  not  so  much  addicted 
to  wine  as  he  was  thought  to  be.  It  was  supposed 
so  because  he  passed  a  great  deal  of  time  at  table, 
but  that  time  was  spent  rather  in  talking  than 
drinking,  every  fresh  cup  introducing  some  long 
discourse.  Besides,  he  never  made  these  long 
meals  but  when  he  had  abundance  of  leisure  upon 
his  hands.  "When  business  called  he  was  not  to 
be  detained  by  wine,  nor  sleep,  nor  pleasure,  nor 
honorable  love,  nor  the  most  entertaining  spec- 
tacle. On  his  leisure  days,  as  soon  as  he  was 
risen  he  sacrificed  to  the  gods,  after  which  he  took 
his  dinner  sitting.  The  rest  of  the  day  he  spent 
in  hunting,  or  deciding  the  differences  among  his 
troops,  or  in  reading  and  writing.  If  he  was  upon 
a  march  which  did  not  require  haste  he  would  ex- 
ercise himself  in  shooting  and  darting  the  javelin, 
or  in  mounting  and  alighting  from  a  chariot  at  full 
speed.  Sometimes  also  he  diverted  himself  with 
fowling  and  fox-hunting.  On  his  return  to  his 
quarters,  when  he  went  to  be  refreshed  with  the 
bath  and  with  oil,  he  inquired  of  the  stewards  of 


plutarch's  lives.  161 

his  kitchen  whether  they  had  prepared  everything 
in  a  handsome  manner  for  supper.  It  was  not  till 
late  in  the  evening,  and  when  night  was  come  on, 
that  he  took  his  meal,  and  then  he  ate  in  a  re- 
cumbent posture.  He  was  very  attentive  to  his 
guests  at  table,  that  they  might  be  served  equally, 
and  none  neglected. 

The  siege  of  Tyre  next  occupied  his  attention  ; 
and  having  taken  it,  he  marched  to  Syria,  and 
laid  siege  to  Gaza,  the  capital  of  that  country, 
and  took  the  city.  He  sent  most  of  its  spoils  to 
Olympias  and  Cleopatra,  and  others  of  his  friends. 
His  tutor,  Leonidas,  was  not  forgotten;  and  the 
present  he  made  him  had  something  particular  in 
it.  It  consisted  of  five  hundred  talents  weight  of 
frankincense,  and  a  hundred  talents  of  myrrh, 
and  was  sent  upon  the  recollection  of  the  hopes 
he  had  conceived  when  a  boy.  It  seems  Leonidas 
one  day  had  observed  Alexander,  at  a  sacrifice, 
throwing  incense  into  the  fire  by  handfuls ;  upon 
which  he  said,  "Alexander,  when  you  have  con- 
quered the  country  where  spices  grow,  you  may 
be  thus  liberal  of  your  incense  ;  but,  in  the  mean 
time,  use  what  you  have  more  sparingly."  He, 
therefore,  wrote  thus  : — "  I  have  sent  you  frankin- 
cense and  myrrh  in  abundance,  that  you  may  be 
no  longer  a  churl  to  the  gods." 

A  casket  being  one  day  brought  him,  which  ap- 
peared to  be  one  of  the  most  curious  and  valuable 
among  the  treasures  of  Darius,  he  asked  his  friends 
what  they  thought  most  worthy  to  be  put  in  it. 
Different    things    were  proposed ;    but  he    said, 


162  THE    YOUTH'S 

"The  Iliad  most  deserved  such  a  casket. "  And  if 
what  the  Alexandrians  say  be  true,  Homer  was 
no  bad  auxiliary  or  useless  counselor  in  the 
course  of  the  war.  They  tell  us  that  when  Alex- 
ander had  conquered  Egypt,  and  had  determined 
to  build  there  a  great  city,  which  was  to  be  peopled 
with  Greeks,  and  called  Alexandria,  after  his  own 
name,  he  traveled  to  Pharos,  which  at  that  time 
was  an  island  lying  a  little  above  the  Canobic 
mouth  of  the  Nile,  but  now  is  joined  to  the  main- 
land by  a  causeway.  He  no  sooner  cast  his  eyes 
upon  the  place  than  he  perceived  the  commodious- 
ness  of  the  situation.  On  one  side  it  has  a  great 
lake,  and  on  the  other  the  sea,  which  there  forms 
a  capacious  harbor.  He  ordered  a  city  to  be 
planned  on  the  ground ;  but  for  want  of  chalk 
the  architects  made  use  of  flour  of  wheat,  which 
answered  well  enough  upon  a  black  soil,  but  while 
the  king  was  enjoying  the  design,  a  large  number 
of  birds  of  all  kinds  settled  down  on  the  lines,  and 
ate  up  all  the  flour.  Alexander  was  disturbed  at 
the  omen,  but  his  diviners  encouraged  him  to  go 
on  with  the  work  by  assuring  him  that  it  was  a 
sign  that  the  city  he  was  going  to  build  would  be 
blessed  with  %uch  plenty  as  to  furnish  a  supply  to 
all  the  nations  which  should  repair  to  it.  After 
marching  across  the  desert,  he  returned  to  Mace- 
donia. There  he  received  a  letter  from  Darius, 
in  which  that  prince  proposed,  on  condition  of  a 
pacification  and  future  friendship,  to  pay  him  ten 
thousand  talents  in  ransom  of  the  prisoners ;  to 
cede  to  him   all   the   countries  on   this  side   the 


plutarch's  lives.  163 

Euphrates  ;  and  to  give  him  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage. Upon  his  communicating  these  proposals 
to  his  friends,  Parmenio  said,  "If  I  were  Alexan- 
der, I  should  accept  them."  "So  would  I,"  said 
Alexander,  "if  I  were  Parmenio."  The  answer 
he  gave  to  Darius  was,  "  If  you  will  come  to  me,  you 
shall  find  the  best  of  treatment ;  if  not,  I  must  go 
and  seek  you. "  He  therefore  set  off  to  seek  for 
Darius,  and,  coming  up  with  him,  both  sides  pre- 
pared for  the  fight. 

The  great  battle  between  Alexander  and  Darius 
was  not  fought  at  Arbela,  as  most  historians  will 
have  it,  but  at  Gangamela,  which,  in  the  Persian 
tongue,  is  said  to  signify  the  house  of  the  camel ; 
so  called  because  one  of  the  ancient  kings,  having 
escaped  his  enemies  by  the  swiftness  of  his  camel, 
placed  her  there,  and  appointed  the  revenue  of  cer- 
tain villages  for  her  maintenance. 

In  the  month  of  September  there  happened  an 
eclipse  of  the  moon,  about  the  beginning  of  the 
festival  of  the  great  mysteries  at  Athens.  The 
eleventh  night  after  that  eclipse,  the  two  armies 
being  in  view  of  each  other,  Darius  kept  his  men 
under  arms,  and  took  a  general  review  of  his 
troops  by  torchlight.  Meantime  Alexander  suf- 
fered his  Macedonians  to  repose  themselves,  and 
with  his  soothsayer  Aristander  performed  some 
private  ceremonies  before  his  tent,  and  offered 
sacrifices  to  Fear.  The  oldest  of  his  friends,  and 
Parmenio  in  particular,  when  they  beheld  the  plain 
between  Niphates  and  the  Gordaean  Mountains  all 
illuminated  with  the  torches  of  the  barbarians, 


164  THE    YOUTH'S 

and  heard  the  tumultuous  and  appalling  noise 
from  their  camp  like  the  roarings  of  an  immense 
sea,  were  astonished  at  their  numbers,  and  ob- 
served among  themselves  how  arduous  an  enter- 
prise it  would  be  to  meet  such  a  torrent  of  war  in 
open  day.  They  waited  upon  the  king,  therefore, 
when  he  had  finished  the  sacrifice,  and  advised 
him  to  attack  the  enemy  in  the  night,  when  dark- 
ness would  hide  what  was  most  dreadful  in  the 
combat.  Upon  which  he  gave  them  that  cele- 
brated answer,  "I  will  not  steal  a  victory." 

When  the  morning  came,  after  sacrificing, 
Alexander  put  on  his  helmet,  being  otherwise 
ready  armed.  He  wore  a  short  coat  of  the  Sicilian 
fashion  girt  close  about  him,  and  over  that  a 
breastplate  of  linen  strongly  quilted,  which  was 
found  among  the  spoils  at  the  battle  of  Issus. 
His  helmet  was  of  iron,  but  so  well  polished  that 
it  shone  like  the  brightest  silver.  To  this  was 
fitted  a  gorget  of  the  same  metal,  set  with  pre- 
cious stones.  His  sword,  the  weapon  he  generally 
used  in  battle,  was  a  present  from  the  king  of  the 
Citieans,  and  could  not  be  excelled  for  lightness 
or  for  temper.  But  the  belt  which  he  wore  in  all 
engagements  was  more  superb  than  the  rest  of  his 
armor.  It  was  given  him  by  the  Rhodians  as  a 
mark  of  their  respect,  and  old  Helicon  had  exerted 
all  his  art  on  it.  In  drawing  up  his  army  and  giv- 
ing orders,  as  well  as  exercising  and  reviewing  it, 
he  spared  Bucephalus  on  account  of  his  age,  and 
rode  another  horse ;  but  he  constantly  charged  on 
him.  and  Alexander  had  no  sooner  mounted  him 


plutarch's  lives.  165 

than  the  signal  for  battle  was  always  given.  In 
the  battle  Darius  was  beaten,  and  had  to  fly ;  and 
his  grand  army  was  totally  routed.  Alexander 
was  acknowledged  king  of  all  Asia. 

Having  nothing  to  occupy  them,  Alexander 
found  that  his  great  officers  set  no  bounds  to 
their  luxury  ;  that  they  were  most  extravagantly 
delicate  in  their  diet,  and  profuse  in  other  re- 
spects ;  insomuch  that  Agnon  of  Teos  wore  silver 
nails  in  his  shoes ;  Leonatus  had  many  camel- 
loads  of  earth  brought  from  Egypt  to  rub  himself 
with  when  he  went  to  the  wrestling  ring  ;  Philotas 
had  hunting  nets  that  would  inclose  the  space  of 
a  hundred  furlongs ;  more  made  use  of  rich  es- 
sences than  oil  after  bathing,  and  had  their 
grooms  of  the  bath,  as  well  as  chamberlains  who 
excelled  in  bed-making.  This  degeneracy  he  re- 
proved with  all  the  temper  of  a  philosopher.  He 
told  them  it  was  very  strange  to  him  that,  after 
having  undergone  so  many  glorious  conflicts,  they 
did  not  remember  that  those  who  come  from  labor 
and  exercise  always  sleep  more  sweetly  than  the 
inactive  and  effeminate  ;  and  that  in  comparing 
the  Persian  manners  with  the  Macedonian  they 
did  not  perceive  that  nothing  was  more  servile 
than  the  love  of  pleasure,  or  more  princely  than  a 
life  of  toil.  "How  will  that  man,"  continued  he. 
"take  care  of  his  own  horse,  or  furbish  his  lance 
and  helmet,  whose  hands  are  too  delicate  to  wait 
on  his  own  dear  person?  Know  you  not  that  the 
end  of  conquest  is,  not  to  do  what  the  conquered 
have  done,  but  something  greatly  superior?" 


166  the  youth's 

When  Alexander  marched  against  Darius  again, 
he  expected  another  battle  ;  but  the  Persian  mon- 
arch fled.  The  pursuit  was  long  and  laborious ; 
for  he  rode  3,300  furlongs  in  eleven  days.*  They 
were  all  eager  to  keep  up  with  Alexander,  but 
only  sixty  men  were  able  to  keep  up  with  him  till 
he  reached  the  enemy's  camp.  There  they  rode 
over  the  gold  and  silver  that  lay  scattered  about, 
and  passing  by  a  number  of  carriages  which  were 
in  motion,  full  of  women  and  children,  but  with- 
out charioteers,  they  hastened  to  the  leading 
squadrons,  not  doubting  that  they  should  find 
Darius  among  them.  At  last,  after  much  search, 
they  found  him  extended  on  his  chariot  and 
pierced  with  many  darts.  Though  he  was  near 
his  last  moments  he  had  strength  to  ask  for  some- 
thing to  quench  his  thirst.  A  Macedonian,  named 
Polystratus,  brought  him  some  cold  water,  and 
when  he  had  drank,  he  said,  "Friend,  this  fills  up 
the  measure  of  my  misfortunes,  to  think  I  am  not 
able  to  reward  thee  for  this  act  of  kindness.  But 
Alexander  will  not  let  thee  go  without  a  recom- 
pense ;  and  the  gods  will  reward  him  for  his  hu- 
manity to  my  mother,  to  my  wife,  and  children. 
Tell  him  I  gave  him  my  hand,  for  I  give  it  thee 
in  his  stead. "  So  saying,  he  took  the  hand  of 
Polystratus,  and  immediately  expired.  When 
Alexander  came  up  he  showed  his  concern  for 
that  event  by  the  strongest  expressions,  and  cov- 
ered the  body  with  his  own  robe.  As  for  the  body  of 
Darius,  he  ordered  it  should  have  all  the  honors  of  a 
royal  funeral,  and  sent  it  embalmed  to  his  mother. 
*  Three  hundred  miles. 


plutarch's  lives.  167 

As  to  the  war  with  the  Indian  prince  Poms,  it 
was  carried  on  with  the  usual  extraordinary 
energy.  Most  historians  agree  that  Porus  was 
four  cubits  and  a  span  high  ;  and  that,  though  the 
elephant  he  rode  was  one  of  the  largest,  his 
stature  and  bulk  were  such  that  he  appeared  but 
proportionably  mounted.  This  elephant,  during 
the  whole  battle,  gave  extraordinary  proofs  of  his 
sagacity  and  care  of  the  king's  person.  As  long 
as  that  prince  was  able  to  fight  he  defended  him 
with  great  courage,  and  repulsed  all  assailants; 
and  when  he  perceived  him  ready  to  sink  under 
the  multitude  of  darts  and  the  wounds  with  which 
he  was  covered,  to  prevent  his  falling  off  he 
kneeled  down  in  the  softest  manner  and  with  his 
proboscis  gently  drew  every  dart  out  of  his 
body. 

In  the  battle  with  Porus,  Alexander's  favorite 
horse,  Bucephalus  received  several  wounds,  of 
which  he  afterward  died,  being  thirty  years  old. 
Alexander  showed  as  much  regret  as  if  he  had  lost 
a  faithful  friend  and  companion — he  esteemed 
him,  indeed,  as  such — and  built  a  city  near  the 
Hydaspes,  in  the  place  where  he  was  buried, 
which  he  called  after  him,  Bucephalia.  He  is 
also  reported  to  have  built  a  city  and  called  it 
Peritas,  in  memory  of  a  dog  of  that  name  which 
he  had  brought  up  and  was  very  fond  of. 

The  Macedonians  refused  to  follow  Alexander 
to  the  banks  of  the  Ganges,  which  grieved  him 
greatly,  and  he  was  very  indignant,  considering 
that  a  retreat  was  nothing  less  than  an  acknowledg- 


168  the  youth's 

ment  that  he  was  overcome.  On  his  return  march 
he  attacked  many  cities,  and  was  always  victori- 
ous. He  was,  however,  very  near  being  cut  in 
pieces  by  the  Malli,  who  were  called  the  most 
warlike  people  in  India.  He  had  driven  some  of 
them  from  the  walls  of  their  city  with  his  missive 
weapons,  and  was  the  first  man  that  ascended  it. 
But  presently,  after  he  was  up,  the  scaling-ladder 
broke.  Finding  himself  and  his  small  company 
much  galled  by  the  darts  of  the  barbarians  from 
below,  he  poised  himself  and  leaped  down  into 
the  midst  of  the  enemy.  By  good  fortune  he  fell 
upon  his  feet,  and  the  barbarians  were  so  aston- 
ished at  the  flashing  of  his  arms  as  he  came  down 
that  they  thought  they  beheld  lightning  or  some 
supernatural  splendor  issuing  from  his  body.  At 
first,  therefore,  they  drew  back  and  dispersed ; 
but  when  they  had  collected  themselves,  and  saw 
him  attended  only  by  two  of  his  guards,  they  at- 
tacked him  hand  to  hand,  and  wounded  him 
through  his  armor  with  their  swords  and  spears, 
notwithstanding  the  valor  with  which  he  fought. 
One  of  them  standing  farther  off,  drew  an  arrow 
with  such  strength  that  it  made  its  way  through 
his  cuirass,  and  entered  the  ribs  under  the  breast. 
Its  force  was  so  great  that  he  was  brought  upon 
his  knees,  and  the  barbarian  ran  up  with  his  drawn 
scimiter  to  dispatch  him,  when  Peucestes  and 
Limnseus  placed  themselves  before  him  ;  but  the 
one  was  wounded  and  the  other  killed.  Peuces- 
tes, who  survived,  was  still  making  some  resist- 
ance, when  Alexander  recovered  himself  and  laid 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  169 

the  barbarian  at  his  feet.  The  king,  however, 
received  new  wounds  ;  and  at  last  had  such  a  blow 
from  a  bludgeon  upon  his  neck  that  he  was  forced 
to  support  himself  by  the  wall,  and  there  stood 
with  his  face  to  the  enemy.  The  Macedonians, 
who  by  this  time  had  got  in,  gathered  about  him, 
and  carried  him  off  to  his  tent.  He  had  lost  his 
senses,  and  it  was  the  current  report  in  the  army 
that  he  was  dead.  When  they  had  with  great 
difficulty  sawn  off  the  shaft  of  the  arrow,  and  with 
equal  trouble  had  taken  off  the  cuirass,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  extract  the  arrow  head,  which  stuck 
fast  in  the  bone.  Alexander  fainted  under  the 
operation,  and  was  very  near  expiring  ;  but  when 
the  head  was  got  out  he  recovered. 

His  next  expedition  was  to  Persia,  and  the  first 
thing  he  did  on  entering  that  kingdom  was  to  give 
money  to  the  matrons,  according  to  the  ancient 
custom  of  the  kings,  who,  upon  their  return  to 
their  Persian  dominions  from  any  excursion,  used 
to  give  every  woman  a  piece  of  gold.  Having 
found  the  tomb  of  Cyrus  broken  open,  he  put  the 
author  of  that  sacrilege  to  death,  though  a  native 
of  Pella,  and  a  person  of  some  distinction.  His 
name  was  Polymachus.  After  he  had  read  the 
epitaph,  which  was  in  the  Persian  language,  he 
ordered  it  to  be  inscribed  also  in  Greek.  It  was 
as  follows  : — O  man  !  whosoever  thou  art,  and 
iuhencesoez>er  thou  contest,  for  come  I  know  thou 
wilt,  I  am  Cyrus,  the  founder  of  the  Persian 
Empire.  Envy  me  not  the  little  earth  that 
covers  my  body.     Alexander  was  much  affected  at 


T70  THE    YOUTH'S 

these  words,  which  placed  before  him  in  so  strong 
a  light  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune. 

When  he  came  to  Ecbatana  in  Media,  and  had 
dispatched  the  most  urgent  affairs,  he  employed 
himself  again  in  the  celebration  of  games  and  other 
public  solemnities  ;  for  which  purpose  three  thou- 
sand artificers,  lately  arrived  from  Greece,  were 
very  serviceable  to  him.  But  unfortunately  He- 
phsestion  fell  sick  of  a  fever  in  the  midst  of  this 
festivity.  As  a  young  man  and  a  soldier  he  could 
not  bear  to  be  kept  to  strict  diet,  and  taking  the 
opportunity  to  dine  when  his  physician  Glaucus 
was  gone  to  the  theater,  he  ate  a  roasted  fowl, 
and  drank  a  flagon  of  wine  made  as  cold  as  possi- 
ble ;  in  consequence  of  which  he  grew  worse  and 
died  a  few  days  after.  Alexander's  grief  on  this 
occasion  exceeded  all  bounds.  He  immediately 
ordered  the  horses  and  mules  to  be  shorn,  that  they 
might  have  their  share  in  the  mourning,  and  with 
the  same  view  pulled  down  the  battlements  of  the 
neighboring  cities,  and  he  crucified  the  poor  phy- 
sician. 

When  once  Alexander  had  given  himself  up  to 
superstition  his  mind  was  so  preyed  upon  by  vain 
fears  and  anxieties  that  he  turned  the  least  inci- 
dent which  was  anything  strange  and  out  of  the 
way  into  a  sign  or  a  portent.  The  Court  swarmed 
with  sacrificers,  purifiers,  and  prognosticators ; 
they  were  all  to  be  seen  exercising  their  talents 
there.  So  true  it  is,  that  though  the  disbelief  of 
religion  and  contempt  of  things  divine  is  a  great 
evil,  yet  superstition  is  a  greater;    for  as  water 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  171 

gains  upon  low  grounds,  so  superstition  prevails 
over  a  dejected  mind,  and  fills  it  with  fear  and 
folly.  This  was  entirely  Alexander's  case.  How- 
ever, upon  the  receipt  of  some  oracles  concerning 
Hephaestion  from  the  god  he  commonly  consulted, 
he  gave  a  truce  to  his  sorrows,  and  employed  him- 
self in  festive  sacrifices  and  entertainments. 

One  day,  after  he  had  given  Nearchus  a  sump- 
tuous treat,  he  went,  according  to  custom,  to  re- 
fresh himself  in  the  bath  in  order  to  retire  to  rest. 
But,  in  the  meantime,  Medius  came  and  invited 
him  to  take  part  in  a  carousal,  and  he  could  not 
deny  him.  There  he  drank  all  that  night  and  the 
next  day,  till  at  last  he  found  a  fever  coming  upon 
him.  He  then  took  a  draft  of  wine  which  threw 
him  into  a  frenzy,  and  he  died  on  the  30th  June, 
b.c.  323. 


JULIUS   CAESAR. 

Note. — Julius  Caesar  (Roman).  This  man,  one  of 
the  greatest  in  all  history,  was  born  B.C.  100,  and 
was  descended  from  the  Julian  family.  When  only 
sixteen  years  old,  he  lost  his  father  who  was  Prae- 
tor. Some  time  later,  Caesar  married  Cornelia, 
daughter  of  Lucius  Cinna.  This  so  offended  Sylla 
that  he  secured  the  proscription  of  Caesar,  unwil- 
lingly releasing  him  some  time  later  from  the 
effects  of  the  decree.  The  career  of  Caesar  is  fully 
told  by  Plutarch. 

The  earliest  incident  in  the  life  of  Julius  Csesar 
was  his  capture  by  pirates.  They  demanded  a 
ransom  of  only  twenty  talents,  which  he  soon  ob- 
tained, but  immediately  manned  some  vessels  and 


172  THE    YOUTH'S 

attacked  the  corsairs.  He  captured  and  crucified 
the  whole  of  them. 

When  the  power  of  Sylla  began  to  decline, 
Caesar's  friends  pressed  him  to  return  to  Rome. 
But  he  first  went  to  Rhodes  to  study  under  Apol- 
lonius,  the  son  of  Molon,  who  taught  rhetoric 
there.  Cicero  also  was  one  of  his  scholars.  Caesar 
is  said  to  have  had  happy  talents  from  nature  for 
a  public  speaker,  and  he  did  not  lack  the  ambition 
to  cultivate  them  ;  so  that  undoubtedly  he  was  the 
second  orator  in  Rome,  and  he  might  have  been 
the  first  had  he  not  rather  chosen  pre-eminence  in 
arms.  Hence  it  was  that  afterward,  in  his  Anti- 
Cato,  which  he  wrote  in  answer  to  a  book  of 
Cicero's,  he  desired  his  readers— "Not  to  expect, 
in  the  performance  of  a  military  man,  the  style  of 
a  complete  orator  who  had  bestowed  all  his  time 
upon  such  studies. " 

When  Caesar  had  been  elected  Praetor,  the  gov- 
ernment of  Spain  was  allotted  to  him.  But  his 
circumstances  were  so  indifferent,  and  his  credi- 
tors so  clamorous  and  troublesome,  that  when  he 
was  preparing  for  his  departure  he  was  forced  to 
apply  to  Crassus,  the  richest  man  in  Rome,  who 
stood  in  need  of  Caesar's  warmth  and  vigor  to 
keep  up  the  balance  of  power  against  Pompey. 
Crassus,  therefore,  took  upon  him  to  pay  the  most 
inexorable  of  his  creditors,  and  became  responsi- 
ble for  eight  hundred  and  thirty  talents,  which  pro- 
cured for  Caesar  liberty  to  set  out  for  his  province. 

On  his  return  to  Rome  he  went  to  work  upon  an 
expedient  which   deceived  all  the  world  except 


plutarch's  lives.  173 

Cato.  It  was  the  reconciliation  of  Pompey  and 
Crassus,  two  of  the  most  powerful  men  in  Rome. 
By  making  them  friends  Caesar  secured  to  himself 
the  interest  of  both.  And  while  he  seemed  to  be 
only  doing  an  office  of  humanity  he  was  undermin- 
ing the  constitution.  Caesar  and  Pompey  first 
combined  to  ruin  the  authority  of  the  senate  ;  and 
when  that  was  effected,  they  parted  to  pursue 
each  his  own  designs.  Cato,  who  often  prophesied 
what  would  be  the  consequence,  was  then  looked 
upon  as  a  troublesome  and  over-busy  man  ;  but 
afterward  he  was  esteemed  a  wise  though  not 
a  fortunate  counselor. 

As  a  warrior  Caesar  was  not  in  the  least  inferior 
to  the  greatest  and  most  admired  commanders  the 
world  ever  produced  ;  for  whether  we  compare 
him  with  the  Fabii,  the  Scipios,  and  Metelli,  with 
the  generals  of  his  own  time,  or  with  those  who 
flourished  a  little  before  him,  as  Sylla,  Marius, 
the  two  Luculli,  or  with  Pompey  himself,  whose 
fame  in  every  military  excellence  reached  the 
skies,  Caesar's  achievements  bear  away  the  palm. 
One  he  surpassed  in  the  difficulty  of  the  scene  of 
action  ;  another,  in  the  extent  of  the  countries  he 
subdued  ;  this,  in  the  number  and  strength  of  the 
enemies  he  overcame;  that,  in  the  savage  man- 
ners and  treacherous  disposition  of  the  people  he 
humanized.  One  he  excelled  in  mildness  and 
clemency  to  his  prisoners  ;  another,  in  bounty  and 
munificence  to  his  troops  ;  and  all,  in  the  number 
of  battles  that  he  won  and  the  enemies  he  killed. 
For  in  the  war  in  Gaul,  in  less  than  ten  years, 


174  THE    YOUTHS 

he  took  eight  hundred  cities  by  assault,  conquered 
three  hundred  states,  and  fought  pitched  battles, 
at  different  times,  with  three  millions  of  men  ; 
one  million  of  which  he  destroyed,  and  made  an- 
other million  prisoners.  Such,  moreover,  was 
the  affection  of  his  soldiers,  and  their  attachment 
to  his  person,  that  they,  who  under  other  com- 
manders were  nothing  above  the  common  rate  of 
men,  became  invincible  where  Caesar's  glory  was 
concerned,  and  they  met  the  most  dreadful  dan- 
gers with  a  courage  that  nothing  could  resist. 
He  seemed  to  know  no  fear,  and  his  patience  was 
astounding,  especially  as  he  was  of  a  delicate 
constitution  and  subject  to  violent  headaches  and 
epileptic  fits.  He  did  not,  however,  make  these 
disorders  a  pretence  for  indulging  himself.  On 
the  contrary,  he  sought  in  war  a  remedy  for  his 
infirmities,  endeavoring  to  strengthen  his  consti- 
tution by  long  marches,  by  simple  diet,  and  by 
seldom  going  under  cover.  Upon  a  march,  when 
he  slept  it  was  commonly  either  in  a  chariot  or  a 
litter,  that  rest  might  be  no  hindrance  to  business. 
In  the  day-time  he  visited  the  castles,  cities,  and 
fortified  camps,  with  his  servant  at  his  side,  whom 
he  employed,  on  such  occasions,  to  write  for  him, 
and  with  a  soldier  behind  who  carried  his  sword. 
By  these  means  he  traveled  so  fast,  and  with  so 
little  interruption,  as  to  reach  the  Rhone  in  eight 
days  after  his  first  setting  out  for  those  parts  from 
Rome.  He  was  a  good  horseman  from  his  early 
years,  and  brought  that  exercise  to  such  perfection 
by  practice  that  he  could  sit  a  horse  at  full  speed 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  175 

with  his  hands  behind  him.  In  this  expedition  he 
also  accustomed  himself  to  dictate  letters  as  he 
rode  on  horseback,  and  found  sufficient  employ- 
ment for  two  secretaries  at  once,  or,  according 
to  Oppius,  for  more.  It  is  also  said  that  Caesar 
was  the  first  who  contrived  to  communicate  his 
thoughts  by  letter  to  his  friends  who  were  in  the 
same  city  with  him,  when  any  urgent  affair  re- 
quired it,  and  the  multiplicity  of  business  or  great 
extent  of  the  city  did  not  admit  of  an  interview. 

Of  his  indifference  with  respect  to  diet  we  have 
this  remarkable  proof : — Happening  to  sup  with 
Valerius  Leo,  a  friend  of  his,  at  Milan,  there  was 
sweet  ointment  poured  upon  the  asparagus  instead 
of  oil.  Csesar  ate  of  it  freely  notwithstanding, 
and  afterward  rebuked  his  friends  for  expressing 
their  dislike  of  it.  "It  was  enough,"  said  he,  "to 
forbear  eating  if  it  was  disagreeable  to  you.  He 
who  finds  fault  with  any  rusticity  is  himself  a 
rustic."  Csesar  was  very  anxious  to  be  the  first 
man  who  should  cross  the  Rhine  in  a  hostile  man- 
ner, and,  in  spite  of  the  Germans  who  inhabited 
the  banks  of  the  river,  he  took  his  army  over  and 
laid  the  country  waste. 

But  his  expedition  into  Britain  discovered  the 
most  daring  spirit  of  enterprise,  for  he  was  the 
first  who  entered  the  Western  ocean  with  a  fleet, 
and  having  embarked  his  troops  on  the  Atlantic, 
he  carried  war  into  an  island  whose  very  existence 
was  doubted.  Some  writers  had  represented  it 
as  incredibly  large,  and  others  contested  its  being. 
Yet  Caesar  attempted  to  conquer  it,  and  to  extend 


176  THE    YOUTH'S 

the  Roman  Empire  beyond  the  bounds  of  the 
known  world.  He  sailed  twice  from  the  opposite 
coast  in  Gaul  to  Britain,  and  fought  many  battles, 
by  which  the  Britons  suffered  more  than  the 
Romans  gained  ;  for  there  was  nothing  worth  tak- 
ing from  a  people  who  were  so  poor  and  lived  in 
so  much  wretchedness.  He  did  not,  however, 
terminate  the  war  in  the  manner  he  could  have 
wished  ;  he  only  received  hostages  of  the  King  of 
Britain,  and  appointed  the  tribute  the  island  was 
to  pay,  and  then  returned  to  Rome. 

Caesar  had  long  resolved  to  ruin  Pompey,  and 
Pompey  to  destroy  Caesar.  For  Crassus,  who 
alone  could  have  taken  up  the  conqueror,  being 
killed  in  the  Parthian  war,  there  remained  noth- 
ing for  Caesar  to  do,  to  make  himself  the  greatest 
of  mankind,  but  to  annihilate  him  who  was  so ; 
nor  for  Pompey  to  prevent  it,  but  to  take  off  the 
man  he  feared.  By  long  service  and  great 
achievements  in  the  wars  of  Gaul  he  had  so  im- 
proved his  army,  and  his  own  reputation  too,  that 
he  was  considered  as  on  a  footing  with  Pompey ; 
and  he  found  pretenses  for  carrying  his  enterprise 
into  execution  in  the  times  of  the  misgovernment 
at  Rome.  These  were  partly  furnished  by  Pom- 
pey himself ;  and,  indeed,  all  ranks  of  men  were 
so  corrupted  that  tables  were  publicly  set  out 
upon  which  the  candidates  for  offices  were  pro- 
fessedly ready  to  pay  the  people  the  price  of  their 
votes  ;  and  the  people  came  not  only  to  give  their 
voices  for  the  man  who  had  bought  them,  but  with 
all  manner  of  offensive  weapons  to  fight  for  him. 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  177 

Hence  it  often  happened  that  they  did  not  part 
without  polluting  the  tribunal  with  blood  and 
murder,  and  the  city  was  a  perpetual  scene  of 
anarchy. 

When  Caesar  and  Pompey  had  each  raised  a 
large  army,  and  several  fruitless  attempts  had 
been  made  to  reconcile  them,  Cassar  at  last  pro- 
posed to  lay  down  his  arms  on  condition  that 
Pompey  should  do  the  same.  The  question  was 
put  to  the  senate,  but  they  could  come  to  no  con- 
clusion, and  on  account  of  this  unhappy  discus- 
sion all  ranks  of  people  put  on  black  as  in  a  time 
of  public  mourning.  Civil  war  soon  broke  out  in 
Rome,  and  Cassar  determined  to  march  his  army 
toward  the  city.  When  he  arrived  at  the  banks 
of  the  Rubicon,  the  river  which  divides  Cisalpine 
Gaul  from  the  rest  of  Italy,  his  reflections  became 
more  interesting  in  proportion  as  the  danger  drew 
near.  Staggered  by  the  greatness  of  his  attempt, 
he  stopped  to  weigh  with  himself  its  inconve- 
niences, and,  as  he  stood  considering  the  argu- 
ments on  both  sides,  he  man)r  times  changed  his 
opinion.  After  which  he  deliberated  upon  it  with 
such  of  his  friends  as  were  by,  enumerating  the 
calamities  which  the  passage  of  that  river  would 
bring  upon  the  world,  acid  the  reflections  that 
might  be  made  by  posterity  upon  it.  At  last, 
upon  some  sudden  impulse,  bidding  adieu  to  his 
reasonings,  and  plunging  into  the  abyss  of  futu- 
rity, in  the  words  of  those  who  embark  in  doubtful 
and  arduous  enterprises,  he  cried  out.  "The  die  is 
cast!"  and  immediately  passed  the  Rubicon. 


178  THE    YOUTH'S 

Pompey  fled,  closely  pursued  by  Caesar,  and  in 
the  short  space  of  sixty  days  the  latter  found  him- 
self master  of  the  whole  of  Italy  without  having 
spilled  one  drop  of  blood.  Then  finding  Rome  in 
a  more  settled  condition  than  he  expected,  and 
many  senators  there,  he  addressed  them  in  a  mild 
and  gracious  manner,  and  desired  them  to  send 
deputies  to  Pompey  to  offer  honorable  terms  of 
peace.  But  not  one  of  them  would  take  upon  him 
the  commission.  As  Metellus,  the  tribune,  op- 
posed his  taking  money  out  of  the  public  treasury, 
and  alleged  some  laws  against  it,  Caesar  said, 
"Arms  and  laws  do  not  flourish  together.  If  you 
are  not  pleased  at  what  I  am  about,  you  have 
nothing  to  do  but  to  withdraw  ;  indeed,  war  will 
not  bear  much  liberty  of  speech.  When  I  say 
this,  I  am  departing  from  my  own  right ;  for  you, 
and  all  whom  I  have  found  exciting  a  spirit  of 
faction  against  me,  are  at  my  disposal."  Saying 
this;,  he  approached  the  doors  of  the  treasury,  and 
as  the  keys  were  not  produced  he  sent  for  work- 
men to  break  the  doors  open.  Csesar  then  re- 
sumed his  march  against  Pompey,  and  after  a 
desperate  battle  at  Pharsalia  completely  routed 
him. 

When  Caesar  reached  Alexandria  he  found  that 
Pompey  had  been  assassinated.  During  his  stay 
in  Egypt  he  was  forced  to  burn  his  ships  to  pre- 
vent their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and 
the  flames  unfortunately  spread  from  the  dock  to 
the  palace,  and  the  great  Alexandrian  library  was 
burned.     Subsequently,  in   a  sea  fight  near  the 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  1 79 

isle  of  Pharos,  seeing  his  men  hard-pressed,  he 
leaped  into  a  little  skiff  to  go  to  their  assistance. 
The  Egyptians  making  up  on  all  sides,  he  threw 
himself  into  the  sea,  and  with  much  difficulty- 
reached  his  galleys  by  swimming.  Having  several 
valuable  papers,  which  he  was  not  willing  either 
to  lose  or  to  wet,  it  is  said  he  held  them  above 
water  with  one  hand,  and  swam  with  the  other. 
At  last  Caesar  attacked  and  defeated  the  king. 
Great  numbers  of  the  Egyptians  were  slain,  and 
the  king  was  heard  of  no  more.  This  gave  Caesar 
an  opportunity  of  establishing  Cleopatra  as  Queen 
of  Egypt. 

He  then  departed  for  Syria,  and  from  thence 
marched  into  Asia  Minor.  Caesar  immediately 
marched  against  Pharnaces  with  three  legions,  and 
defeated  him  in  a  great  battle  near  Zela,  which 
deprived  him  of  the  kingdom  of  Pontus,  as  well 
as  ruined  his  whole  army.  In  the  account  he  gave 
Amintius,  one  of  his  friends  in  Rome,  of  the 
rapidity  and  dispatch  with  which  he  gained  his 
victory,  he  made  use  only  of  three  words,  "  Vem, 
vidi,  vici"  (I  came,  I  saw,  I  conquered).  Their 
having  all  the  same  form  and  termination  in  the 
Roman  language  adds  grace  to  their  concise- 
ness. 

Caesar,  after  his  return  from  Africa  to  Rome, 
spoke  in  high  terms  of  his  victory  to  the  people. 
He  told  them  he  had  subdued  a  country  so  exten- 
sive that  it  would  bring  yearly  into  the  public 
stores  two  hundred  thousand  Attic  measures  of 
wheat,  and  three  million  of  pounds  of  oil.     After 


l8o  THE    YOUTH'S 

this  he  led  up  his  several  triumphs  over  Egypt, 
Pontus,  and  Africa. 

Soon  after  he  had  been  elected  consul  the  fourth 
time,  the  first  thing  he  undertook  was  to  march 
into  Spain  against  the  sons  of  Pompey,  who, 
though  young,  had  assembled  a  numerous  army, 
and  showed  a  courage  worthy  the  command  they 
had  undertaken.  The  great  battle  which  put  a 
period  to  that  war  was  fought  under  the  walls  of 
Munda.  Caesar  at  first  saw  his  men  so  hard- 
pressed,  and  making  so  feeble  a  resistance,  that 
he  ran  through  the  ranks  amidst  the  swords  and 
spears,  crying,  "Are  you  not  ashamed  to  deliver 
your  general  into  the  hands  of  boys?"  The  great 
and  vigorous  efforts  this  reproach  produced  at  last 
made  the  enemy  turn  their  backs,  and  there  were 
more  than  thirty  thousand  of  them  slain  ;  whereas 
Caesar  lost  only  a  thousand,  but  those  were  some 
of  the  best  men  he  had.  As  he  retired  after  the 
battle  he  told  his  friends — "  He  had  often  fought 
for  victory,  but  that  was  the  first  time  he  had 
fought  for  his  life." 

The  younger  of  Pompey'ssons  made  his  escape; 
the  other  was  taken  a  few  days  after  by  Didius, 
who  brought  his  head  to  Caesar. 

This  was  the  last  of  his  wars  ;  and  his  triumph 
on  account  of  it  gave  the  Romans  more  pain  than 
any  other  step  he  had  taken.  He  did  not  now 
mount  the  car  for  having  conquered  foreign  gen- 
erals or  barbarian  kings,  but  for  ruining  the  chil- 
dren and  destroying  the  race  of  one  of  the  great- 
est men  Rome  had  ever  produced ;    and  all  the 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  IOT 

world  condemned  his  triumphing  in  the  calamities 
of  his  country. 

Amongst  many  important  things  which  Caesar 
did,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  he  completed 
the  regulation  of  the  calendar,  and  corrected  the 
erroneous  computations  of  time. 

The  principal  cause  of  the  public  hatred  against 
him  was  his  passion  for  the  title  of  king.  He 
also  treated  the  tribunes  with  great  indignity,  till 
at  last  a  conspiracy  was  formed  to  kill  him.  One 
day,  when  Caesar  entered  the  senate  house,  the 
senators  rose  up  to  do  him  honor  as  usual ;  but 
the  conspirators  surrounded  him  with  drawn 
swords.  Casca  gave  the  first  blow  ;  many  others 
followed ;  for  it  had  been  agreed  that  all  should 
share  in  the  deed.  Therefore  Brutus  himself  gave 
him  a  stroke  in  the  groin.  Some  say  he  opposed 
the  rest,  and  continued  struggling  and  crying  out 
till  he  perceived  the  sword  of  Brutus ;  then  he 
drew  his  robe  over  his  face  and  yielded  to  his 
fate.  Either  by  accident,  or  pushed  thither  by 
the  conspirators,  he  expired  on  the  pedestal  of 
Pompey's  statue,  and  dyed  it  with  his  blood  :  so 
that  Pompey  seemed  to  preside  over  the  work  of 
vengeance,  to  tread  his  enemy  under  his  feet,  and 
to  enjoy  his  agonies.  Those  agonies  were  great, 
for  he  received  no  less  than  three-and- twenty 
wounds.     Caesar  died  at  the  age  of  fifty- six,  b.c.  44. 


l82  THE    YOUTH'S 


PHOCION. 

Note. — Phocion  (Greek).  Phocion  was  born  about 
B.C.  400.  What  more  striking  proof  of  his  success 
as  a  soldier  need  be  asked  than  the  fact  that  he 
was  appointed  general  forty-five  times  ?  His 
private  character  was  stainless,  but  his  political 
course  was  infamous. 

When  Phocion  was  very  young  he  was  in  tuition 
with  Plato,  and  afterward  with  Xenocrates  in  the 
academy  ;  and  from  the  very  first  he  distinguished 
himself  by  his  strong  application  to  the  most  val- 
uable studies.  If  he  made  an  excursion  into  the 
country,  or  marched  out  to  war,  he  went  always 
barefooted,  and  without  his  upper  garment  too, 
except  it  happened  to  be  intolerably  cold ;  and 
then  his  soldiers  used  to  laugh,  and  say,  "It  is  a 
sign  of  a  sharp  winter  ;  Phocion  has  got  his  clothes 
on."  He  was  one  of  the  most  humane  and  best- 
tempered  men  in  the  world,  and  yet  he  had  so  ill- 
natured  and  forbidding  a  look  that  strangers  were 
afraid  to  address  him  without  company.  There- 
fore, when  Chares,  the  orator,  observed  to  the 
Athenians  what  terrible  brows  Phocion  had,  and 
they  could  not  help  making  themselves  merry,  he 
said,  "This  brow  of  mine  never  gave  one  of  you 
an  hour  of  sorrow ;  but  the  laughter  of  these 
sneerers  has  cost  their  country  many  a  tear.  "  In 
like  manner,  though  the  measures  he  proposed 
were  happy  ones,  and  his  counsels  of  the  most 
salutary  kind,  yet  he  used  no  flowers  of  rhetoric ; 
his  speeches  were  concise,  commanding,  and 
severe.     For,  as  Zeno  rightly  says,  a  philosopher 


plutarch's  lives.  183 

should  never  let  a  word  come  out  of  his  mouth 
that  is  not  strongly  tinctured  with  sense ;  so 
Phocion's  oratory  contained  the  most  sense  in  the 
fewest  words.  And  it  seems  that  Polyeuctus  had 
this  in  view  when  he  said,  "Demosthenes  was  the 
better  orator,  and  Phocion  the  more  persuasive 
speaker. "  His  speeches  were  to  be  estimated  like 
coins,  not  for  the  size,  but  for  the  intrinsic  value. 
The  general  amiability  of  his  character  obtained 
for  him  the  surname  of  "The  Good."  He  was  a 
capable  general ;  but  his  enemies  conspired  against 
him  and  accused  him  of  treason.  He  was  ordered 
to  be  poisoned  with  several  other  Athenians. 

When  they  came  to  drink  the  poison,  the  quan- 
tity proved  insufficient,  and  the  executioner  re- 
fused to  prepare  more  unless  he  had  twelve 
drachmas  paid  him.  As  this  occasioned  a  trou- 
blesome delay,  Phocion  called  one  of  his  friends, 
and  said,  "Since  one  cannot  die  free  of  cost  at 
Athens,  give  the  man  his  money. "  This  execution 
was  on  the  19th  day  of  April,  B.C.  318. 

CATO,   THE  YOUNGER. 

Note. — Cato,  the  Younger  (Roman).  Cato  the 
Younger  was  born  b.c.  95,  and  began  his  military 
career  b.c  72  as  volunteer.  He  was  elected 
quaestor  b.c  65.  Before  stabbing  himself  to  death, 
as  related  below,  he  withdrew  to  his  chamber  and 
read  Plato's  dialogue  on  "the  Immortality  of  the 
Soul." 

We  are  told  that  Cato  from  his  infancy  showed 
in  his  voice,  his  look,  and  his  very  diversions,  a 
firmness  and  solidity  which  neither  passion  nor 


184  THE    YOUTH'S 

anything  else  could  move.  He  pursued  every 
object  he  had  in  view  with  a  vigor  far  above  his 
years,  and  a  resolution  that  nothing  could  resist. 
Those  who  were  inclined  to  flatter  were  sure  to 
meet  with  a  severe  repulse  ;  and  to  those  who 
attempted  to  intimidate  him  he  was  still  more  in- 
tractable. Scarcely  anything  could  make  him 
laugh,  and  it  was  but  rarely  that  his  countenance 
was  softened  to  a  smile.  He  was  not  quickly  or 
easily  moved  to  anger ;  but  it  was  difficult  to  ap- 
pease his  resentment  when  once  excited. 

His  apprehension  was  slow,  and  his  learning 
came  with  difficulty  ;  but  what  he  had  once  learned 
he  long  retained.  The  inflexibility  of  his  disposi- 
tion seems  to  have  retarded  his  progress  in  learn- 
ing. Yet  Cato  is  said  to  have  been  very  obedient 
to  his  preceptor,  and  to  have  done  whatever  he 
was  commanded  ;  only  he  would  always  inquire  the 
reason,  and  ask  why  such  and  such  a  thing  was 
enjoined.  Indeed,  Sarpedon,  his  preceptor,  was 
a  man  of  engaging  manners,  who  chose  rather  to 
govern  by  reason  than  by  violence.  Cato  was 
very  fond  of  his  brother  Csepio,  and  was  never 
happy  but  when  he  was  by  his  side. 

To  strengthen  his  constitution,  he  practiced  the 
most  laborious  exercises.  He  accustomed  him- 
self to  go  bareheaded  in  the  hottest  and  coldest 
weather,  and  traveled  on  foot  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year.  His  friends  who  traveled  with  him 
made  use  of  horses,  and  he  joined  sometimes  one 
and  sometimes  another  for  conversation  as  he 
went  along.     In  time  of  sickness  his  patience  and 


plutarch's  lives.  185 

abstinence  were  extraordinary.  If  he  happened 
to  have  a  fever  he  spent  the  whole  day  alone, 
suffering  no  person  to  approach  him  till  he  found 
a  sensible  change  for  the  better.  At  entertain- 
ments they  threw  the  dice  for  the  choice  of  the 
messes  ;  and  if  Cato  lost  the  first  choice,  his  friends 
used  to  offer  it  him,  but  he  always  refused  it. 

By  the  death  of  a  cousin  he  came  into  a  large 
estate  ;  and  when  his  friends  wanted  to  borrow  he 
lent  them  money  without  interest;  and  when  the 
borrowers  exhausted  his  ready  money,  he  mort- 
gaged his  own  slaves  and  his  land  to  enable  him- 
self to  continue  lending. 

Cato  prided  himself  in  being  a  Stoic,  and  took 
great  delight  in  studying  Plato's  works.  Toward 
the  close  of  his  life  his  mind  seemed  to  give  way, 
and  he  stabbed  himself  when  he  was  about  50 
years  old,  B.C.  46. 

AGIS. 

Note. — Agis  (Spartan).  The  name  of  Agis  was  borne 
by  four  kings  of  Sparta.  The  son  of  Eudamides 
was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Agesilaus.  His  death 
occurred  b.c.  241. 

Agis  was  a  celebrated  king  of  Sparta,  the  son  of 
Eudamides.  He  excelled  almost  all  the  kings 
who  reigned  before  him  since  the  great  Agesilaus 
in  goodness  of  disposition  and  dignity  of  mind. 
For  though  brought  up  in  the  greatest  affluence, 
and  in  all  the  indulgence  that  might  be  expected 
from  female  tuition  under  his  mother  Agesistrata 
and  his  grandmother  Archidamia,  who  were  the 


186  the  youth's 

richest  persons  in  Lacedsemonia,  yet  before  he 
reached  the  age  of  twenty  he  declared  war  against 
pleasure.  To  prevent  an)'  vanity  which  the 
beauty  of  his  person  might  have  suggested  hedis 
carded  all  unnecessary  ornament  and  expense, 
and  constantly  appeared  in  a  plain  Lacedaemonian 
cloak.  In  his  diet,  his  bathing,  and  in  all  his  ex- 
ercises, he  kept  close  to  the  Spartan  simplicity  ; 
and  he  often  used  to  say  that  he  only  wanted  the 
crown  that  it  might  enable  him  to  restore  the 
laws  and  ancient  discipline  of  his  country. 

When  he  ascended  the  throne  he  strove  hard  to 
improve  the  condition  of  the  Spartans,  and  won 
the  affections  of  his  people ;  but  his  success  only 
provoked  the  ephori  to  oppose  his  measures.  One 
of  them,  Leonidas  by  name,  raised  a  conspiracy 
against  him,  and  one  day  he  was  arrested  by  ar- 
rangement near  the  prison.  At  the  same  time, 
Demochares,  who  was  a  tall,  strong  man,  wrapped 
his  cloak  about  the  king's  head,  and  dragged  him 
off.  The  rest,  as  they  had  previously  concerted 
the  thing,  pushed  him  on  behind  ;  and  no  one 
coming  to  his  rescue  or  assistance,  he  was  com- 
mitted to  prison. 

Leonidas  presently  came  with  a  strong  band  of 
mercenaries  to  secure  the  prison  without ;  and  the 
ephori  entered  it  with  such  senators  as  were  of 
their  party.  They  began,  as  in  a  judicial  process, 
with  demanding  what  he  had  to  say  in  defense  of 
his  proceedings ;  and  as  the  young  prince  only 
laughed  at  their  dissimulation,  Amphares  told 
him  "they  would  soon  make  him   weep  for  his 


plutarch's  lives.  187 

presumption."  Another  of  the  ephori,  seeming 
inclined  to  put  him  in  a  way  of  excusing  himself 
and  getting  off,  asked  him,  "Whether  Lysander 
and  Agesilaus  had  not  forced  him  into  the  meas- 
ures he  took?"  But  Agis  answered,  "I  was 
forced  by  no  man  ;  it  was  my  attachment  to  the 
institutions  of  Lycurgus,  and  my  desire  to  imitate 
him,  which  made  me  adopt  his  form  of  govern- 
ment." Then  the  same  magistrate  demanded, 
"  Whether  he  repented  of  what  he  had  done?"  and 
his  answer  was,  "I  shall  never  repent  of  so  glori- 
ous a  design,  though  I  see  death  before  my  eyes." 
Upon  this  they  passed  sentence  of  death  upon 
him,  and  commanded  the  officers  to  carry  him  into 
the  decade,  which  is  a  small  apartment  in  the 
prison  where  they  strangle  malefactors.  But  the 
officers  durst  not  touch  him,  and  the  mercenaries 
declined  to  do  so;  for  they  thought  it  impious 
to  lay  violent  hands  on  a  king.  Demochares, 
seeing  this,  loaded  them  with  reproaches,  and 
threatened  to  punish  them.  At  the  same  time  he 
laid  hold  on  Agis  himself,  and  thrust  him  into  the 
dungeon. 

By  this  time  it  was  generally  known  that  Agis 
was  taken  into  custody,  and  there  was  a  great 
concourse  of  people  at  the  prison  gates  with  lan- 
terns and  torches.  Among  the  numbers  who  re- 
sented these  proceedings  were  the  mother  and 
grandmother  of  Agis,  crying  out  and  begging  that 
the  king  might  be  heard  and  judged  by  the  people 
in  full  assembly.  But  this,  instead  of  procuring 
him  a  respite,  hastened  his  execution  ;    for  they 


155  THE    YOUTHS 

were  afraid  he  would  be  rescued  in  the  night  if  the 
tumult  should  increase. 

As  Agis  was  going  to  execution  he  perceived 
one  of  the  officers  lamenting  his  fate  with  tears ; 
upon  which  he  said,  "My  friend,  dry  up  your 
tears ;  for  as  I  suffer  innocently  I  am  in  a  better 
condition  than  those  who  condemn  me  contrary  to 
law  and  justice. "  So  saying,  he  cheerfully  offered 
his  neck  to  the  executioner. 


CLEOMENES. 

Note. — Cleomenes  (Spartan).  The  defeat  of  Cleo- 
menes  at  Sellasia  took  place  B.C.  222.  His  suicide 
followed  three  years  later.  There  were  others 
who  bore  the  name  of  Cleomenes,  but  they  were 
of  inferior  note. 

The  King  Cleomenes  about  whom  we  are  writ- 
ing was  the  third  of  that  name  who  had  sat  on  the 
throne  of  Sparta.  He  was  ambitious  to  gain 
glory,  and  had  a  native  greatness'  of  mind.  He 
was  not  satisfied  with  the  prevailing  manners  and 
customs  of  Sparta,  for  he  observed  that  ease  and 
pleasure  were  the  great  objects  of  the  people. 
He  noticed  that  individuals,  entirely  actuated  by 
self-interest,  paid  no  attention  to  the  business  of 
the  state  any  further  than  they  could  turn  it  to 
their  own  emolument. 

When  Leonidas  died,  and  Cleomenes  came  to 
the  throne  he  observed.that  all  ranks  of  men  were 
utterly  corrupted.  The  rich  had  an  eye  only  to 
private  profit  and  pleasure,  and  utterly  neglected 


plutarch's  lives.  189 

the  public  interest.  The  common  people,  on  ac- 
count of  the  meanness  of  their  circumstances,  had 
no  spirit  for  war,  or  ambition  to  instruct  their 
children  in  the  Spartan  exercises.  Cleomenes 
himself  had  only  the  name  of  king,  while  the 
power  was  in  the  hands  of  the  ephori.  He  there- 
fore soon  began  to  think  of  changing  this  state  of 
affairs,  and  the  readiest  way  seemed  to  be  by  get- 
ting rid  of  the  ephori.  He  endeavored  to  convince 
his  father-in-law,  Megistonus,  that  the  yoke  of  the 
ephori  ought  to  be  broken,  and  an  equal  division 
of  property  made  ;  by  means  of  which  equality 
Sparta  would  resume  her  ancient  valor  and  pres- 
tige. Megistonus  complied,  and  the  king  then 
took  two  or  three  other  friends  into  the  scheme. 
Soon  after,  all  the  ephori  but  one  were  put  to 
death.  He  was  one  of  the  first  who  gave  up  his 
own  estate  to  the  public  stock,  and  his  father-in- 
law  and  many  friends  followed  his  example.  The 
whole  of  the  citizens  readily  joined  in  the  scheme, 
and  the  land  was  re-allotted.  Then  all  the  old 
Spartan  laws  and  customs  were  again  established, 
and  the  king  himself  was  plain  and  simple  in  his 
equipage  and  diet,  assuming  no  manner  of  pomp 
above  a  common  citizen  ;  he  set  a  glorious  exam- 
ple of  sobriety. 

His  common  supper  was  short  and  truly  laconic. 
There  were  only  couches  for  three  people  ;  but 
when  he  entertained  ambassadors  or  strangers, 
two  more  couches  were  added,  and  the  table  was 
a  little  better  furnished  by  the  servants  ;  not  that 
any  curious   dessert  was  added,  only  the  dishes 


190  THE    YOUTH  S 

were  larger  and  the  wine  more  generous ;  for  he 
blamed  one  of  his  friends  for  setting  nothing  be- 
fore strangers  but  the  coarse  cake  and  black 
broth  which  they  ate  in  their  common  refectories. 
"When  we  have  strangers  to  entertain,"  he  said, 
"we  need  not  be  such  very  exact  Lacedaemonians. " 
After  supper  a  three-legged  stand  was  brought  in, 
upon  which  were  placed  a  brass  bowl  full  of  wine, 
two  silver  pots  that  held  about  a  pint  and  a  half 
apiece,  and  a  few  other  cups.  Such  of  the  guests 
as  were  inclined  to  drink  made  use  of  these  ves- 
sels ;  for  the  cup  was  not  pressed  upon  any  man 
against  his  will.  There  was  no  music  or  other 
amusement,  nor  was  any  such  thing  wanted.  He 
entertained  his  company  very  agreeably  with  his 
own  conversation — sometimes  asking  questions, 
and  sometimes  telling  stories. 

He  raised  a  small  army  only  at  first,  but  he  was 
soon  obliged  to  increase  it,  and  to  march  against 
enemies  on  all  sides.  He  took  Argos  after  a  des- 
perate struggle,  and  recovered  the  whole  of  Pelo- 
ponnesus. 

The  tide  of  success  then  turned  against  Cleo- 
menes,  and  he  was  in  great  straits  for  want  of 
money.  He  was  defeated  and  ruined  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Sellasia  by  Antigonus.  He  sought  refuge 
in  Egypt,  and  was  taken,  by  orders  of  Ptolemy 
Euergetes,  to  Alexandria,  where  he  was  treated 
tvith  some  degree  of  consideration  ;  but  old 
Ptolemy  died  before  he  could  put  his  intentions  in 
favor  of  Cleomenes  into  execution,  and  his  succes- 
sor on  the  Egyptian  throne  was  no  friend  to  Cleo- 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  191 

menes.  The  ex-king  of  Sparta  and  his  friends 
then  took  means  to  escape  from  Egypt ;  but  they 
were  caught  before  they  could  get  to  their  ships, 
and  in  their  extreme  trouble  all  of  them  committed 
suicide.  Cleomenes  had  been  king  of  Sparta  six- 
teen years. 

Ptolemy  was  no  sooner  informed  of  what  had 
happened  than  he  ordered  the  body  of  Cleomenes 
to  be  flayed  and  nailed  to  a  cross,  and  his  chil- 
dren and  mother  and  companions  to  be  put  to 
death.  A  few  days  after,  the  soldiers  who  watched 
the  body  of  Cleomenes  on  the  cross  saw  a  great 
snake  winding  about  his  head  and  covering  all  his 
face,  so  that  no  bird  of  prey  durst  touch  it.  This 
struck  Ptolemy  with  superstitious  terror,  and 
made  way  for  the  women  to  try  a  variety  of  ex- 
piations ;  for  he  was  now  persuaded  that  he  had 
caused  the  death  of  a  person  who  was  a  favorite 
of  heaven,  and  something  more  than  mortal.  The 
Alexandrians  crowded  to  the  place,  and  called 
Cleomenes  a  hero,  a  son  of  the  gods,  till  the  phil- 
osophers put  a  stop  to  their  devotions  by  assuring 
them  that  as  dead  oxen  breed  bees,  horses  wasps, 
and  beetles  rise  out  of  the  putrefaction  of  asses,  so 
human  carcasses  (when  some  of  the  moisture  of 
the  marrow  is  evaporated,  and  it  comes  to  a 
thicker  consistence)  produce  serpents.  The  an- 
cients, knowing  this  doctrine,  appropriated  the 
serpent,  rather  than  any  other  animal,  to  heroes. 


192  THE    YOUTHS 


TIBERIUS  GRACCHUS. 

Note. — Tiberius  Gracchus  (Roman).  This  famous 
tribune  and  reformer  was  born  about  B.C.  166.  As 
stated  below,  he  was  less  than  thirty  years  of  age 
at  his  death. 

Having  given  the  history  of  Agis  and  Cleo- 
menes,  we  have  two  Romans  to  compare  with 
them ,  namely  Tiberius  and  Caius  Gracchus.  They 
were  the  sons  of  Tiberius  Gracchus. 

Tiberius,  as  he  grew  toward  manhood,  gained 
so  extraordinary  a  reputation  that  he  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  college  of  the  augurs,  rather  on 
account  of  his  virtue  than  his  high  birth.  He  was 
soon  after  made  a  tribune,  but  when  he  sought  re- 
election he  was  strongly  opposed,  and  when  the 
day  of  election  came  the  person  who  had  care  of 
the  chickens  which  were  used  in  augury  brought 
them  out  and  set  food  before  them,  but  none  of 
them  came  out  of  the  pen  except  one,  and  that  one 
would  not  eat ;  it  only  raised  its  left  wing, 
stretched  out  a  leg,  and  then  went  in  again.  This 
put  Tiberius  in  mind  of  a  former  ill  omen.  He 
had  a  helmet  that  he  wore  in  battle,  finely  orna- 
mented, and  remarkably  magnificent ;  two  ser- 
pents that  had  crept  into  it  privately  laid  their 
eggs  and  hatched  in  it.  Such  a  bad  presage  made 
him  more  afraid  of  the  late  one.  Yet  he  set  out 
for  the  capitol,  as  soon  as  he  understood  that  the 
people  were  assembled  there.  But  in  going  out 
of  his  house  he  stumbled  upon  the  threshold,  and 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  I93 

struck  it  with  so  much  violence  that  the  nail  of 
his  great  toe  was  broken,  and  the  blood  flowed 
from  the  wound.  When  he  had  got  a  little  on  his 
way,  he  saw  on  his  left  hand  two  ravens  fighting 
on  the  top  of  a  house  ;  and  though  he  was  at- 
tended, on  account  of  his  dignity,  by  great  num- 
bers of  people,  a  stone  which  one  of  the  ravens 
dropped  fell  close  by  his  foot.  This  startled  even 
the  boldest  of  his  partisans.  But  one  of  his  train 
said,  "It  would  be  an  unsupportable  disgrace  if 
Tiberius,  the  son  of  Gracchus,  grandson  of  Scipio 
Africanus,  and  protector  of  the  people  of  Rome, 
should,  for  fear  of  a  raven,  disappoint  that  people 
when  they  called  him  to  their  assistance." 

Tiberius  soon  discovered  that  the  people  having 
landed  interests  had  applied  to  the  magistrates  to 
protect  them  ;  but  as  they  could  not  prevail,  they 
had  resolved  to  dispatch  him,  Tiberius,  them- 
selves, and  for  that  purpose  had  armed  them- 
selves and  their  friends  and  slaves.  Tiberius  no 
sooner  communicated  this  intelligence  to  those 
about  him,  than  they  tucked  up  their  gowns, 
seized  the  halberts  with  which  the  sergeants  kept 
off  the  crowd,  broke  them,  and  took  the  pieces  to 
ward  off  any  assault  that  might  be  made.  Such 
as  were  at  a  distance,  much  surprised  at  seeing 
this,  asked  what  the  reason  might  be,  and  Tiberius, 
finding  they  could  not  hear  him,  touched  his  head 
with  his  hand  to  signify  the  danger  he  was  in. 
His  adversaries  seeing  this,  ran  and  informed  the 
senators  that  Tiberius  demanded  the  diadem, 
alleging  that  gesture  as  a  proof  of  it. 
13 


194 


THE    YOUTH  S 


A  riot  ensued,  and  there  was  a  serious  fight. 
The  attendants  had  brought  clubs  and  bludgeons 
with  them  from  home,  and  the  patricians  seized 
the  feet  of  the.  benches  which  the  populace  had 
broken  in  their  flight.  Thus  armed,  they  made 
toward  Tiberius,  knocking  down  such  as  stood 
before  him.  These  being  killed  or  dispersed, 
Tiberius  likewise  fled.  He  happened,  however, 
to  stumble  and  fall  over  some  of  the  killed.  As 
he  was  recovering  himself,  one  of  his  colleagues 
came  up  openly,  and  struck  him  on  the  head  with 
the  foot  of  a  stool,  and  another  gave  him  a  blow 
which  killed  him.  More  than  three  hundred  per- 
sons lost  their  lives  in  this  affray  with  clubs, 
stones,  and  like  weapons  ;  but  not  one  was  killed 
by  the  sword.  This  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
instance  of  sedition  in  Rome,  since  the  expulsion 
of  the  kings,  which  caused  blood  to  be  shed. 

Tiberius  Gracchus  was  only  twenty-nine  years 
old  when  he  died. 

CAIUS  GRACCHUS. 


Note. — Caius  Gracchus  (Roman).  Caius  Gracchus 
was  a  younger  brother  of  Tiberius  Gracchus  and 
was  born  about  b.c  157.  After  his  brother's  death 
he  lived  in  retirement  until  his  death  B.C.  126. 


This  Roman  senator,  was  brother  of  Tiberius 
Gracchus.  On  the  murder  of  his  brother  he  left 
the  forum  and  lived  in  retirement ;  but  after  a 
time  he  was  elected  to  office,  and  accepted  it. 
He  soon  became  a  leading  tribune. 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  195 

Among  the  laws  which  he  procured  to  increase 
the  authority  of  the  people,  and  lessen  that  of  the 
senate,  one  related  to  colonizing  and  dividing 
the  public  lands  among  the  poor.  Another  was  in 
favor  of  the  army,  who  were  now  to  be  clothed  at 
the  public  charge,  without  diminution  of  their 
pay,  and  none  was  to  serve  till  he  was  full 
seventeen  years  old.  A  third  was  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Italian  allies,  who  were  to  have  the  same 
right  of  voting  at  elections  as  the  citizens  of 
Rome.  By  a  fourth  the  markets  were  regulated, 
and  the  poor  enabled  to  buy  bread-corn  at  a 
cheaper  rate.  A  fifth  related  to  the  courts  of 
judicature,  and,  indeed,  contributed  more  than 
anything  to  retrench  the  power  of  the  senate. 
Before  this,  senators  only  were  judges  in  all 
causes,  and  on  that  account  their  body  was  for- 
midable both  to  the  equestrian  order  and  to  the 
people.  But  now  he  added  three  hundred  knights 
to  the  three  hundred  senators,  and  decreed  that  a 
judicial  authority  should  be  equally  invested  in 
the  six  hundred. 

The  work  that  he  took  most  pains  with  was  that 
of  the  public  roads,  in  which  he  paid  a  regard  to 
beauty  as  well  as  use.  They  were  drawn  in  a 
straight  line  through  the  country,  and  either  paved 
with  hewn  stone,  or  made  of  a  binding  sand. 
When  he  met  with  dells  or  other  deep  holes,  he 
either  filled  them  up  with  rubbish,  or  laid  bridges 
over  them  ;  so  that  being  leveled  and  brought  to 
a  perfect  parallel  on  both  sides,  they  afforded  a 
regular  and  elegant  prospect  through  the  whole. 


196  THE    YOUTH'S 

Besides,  he  divided  all  the  roads  into  miles  of  near 
eight  furlongs  each,  and  set  up  pillars  of  stone  to 
mark  the  divisions.  He  likewise  erected  other 
stones,  at  proper  distances,  on  each  side  of  the 
way,  to  assist  travellers  who  rode  without  ser- 
vants to  mount  their  horses. 

But  sedition  again  began  to  show  itself,  and 
Caius  quarreled  with  his  colleagues.  The  reason 
was  this  : — There  was  a  show  of  gladiators  to  be 
exhibited  to  the  people  in  the  forum,  and  most  of 
the  magistrates  had  caused  scaffolds  to  be  erected 
around  the  place,  in  order  to  let  them  out  for  hire. 
Caius  insisted  that  they  should  be  taken  down, 
that  the  poor  might  see  the  exhibition  without 
paying  for  it.  As  none  of  the  proprietors  regarded 
his  orders,  he  waited  till  the  night  preceding  the 
show,  and  then  went  with  his  own  workmen  and 
demolished  the  scaffolds.  Next  day  the  populace 
saw  the  place  quite  clear  of  them,  and,  of  course, 
they  admired  him  as  a  man  of  superior  spirit. 
But  his  colleagues  were  greatly  offended  at  his 
violent  temper  and  measures,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  there  was  an  open  rupture,  and  Caius  was 
obliged  to  flee  from  Rome.  He  was  pursued, 
captured,  and  immediately  killed.  We  are  told 
also  that  after  a  person  had  cut  off  the  head  of 
Caius,  and  was  bearing  away  the  prize,  Septimu- 
leius,  one  of  Opimius'  friends,  took  it  from  him  ; 
for  the  weight  in  gold  had  been  offered  by  proc- 
lamation for  the  head.  Septimuleius  carried  it 
to  Opimius  upon  the  point  of  a  pike ;  and  when 
put  into  the  scales  it  was  found  to  weigh  seventeen 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  197 

pounds  eight  ounces  ;  but  Septimuleius  had  added 
fraud  to  his  other  villainies,  and  had  taken  out  the 
brain  and  filled  the  cavity  with  molten  lead. 


DEMOSTHENES. 

Note. — Demosthenes  (Greek).  The  career  of  this 
matchless  orator  is  fully  told  by  Plutarch.  He 
was  born  near  Athens,  B.C.  383,  and  poisoned  him- 
self in  the  temple  of  Poseidon  b.c.  322. 

This  prince  of  orators  was  son  of  Demosthenes, 
a  sword-cutler,  one  of  the  principal  citizens  of 
Athens.  He  was  only  seven  years  old  when  his 
father  died,  and  his  guardians  greatly  neglected 
him,  and  squandered  or  wasted  the  money  which 
had  been  left  to  support  and  educate  him. 

His  ambition  to  speak  in  public  is  said  to  have 
taken  its  rise  on  this  occasion  : — The  orator  Calli- 
stratus  was  to  plead  a  celebrated  cause,  and  the 
expectation  of  the  public  was  greatly  raised,  both 
by  the  powers  of  the  orator — which  were  then  in 
the  highest  repute— and  by  the  importance  of  the 
trial.  Demosthenes,  hearing  his  governors  and 
tutors  agree  among  themselves  to  attend  the  trial, 
prevailed  on  his  master  to  take  him  to  hear  the 
pleadings.  The  master,  having  some  acquaint- 
ance with  the  officers  who  opened  the  court,  got 
his  young  pupil  a  seat  where  he  could  hear  the 
orators  without  being  seen.  Callistratus  had 
great  success,  and  his  abilities  were  extremely 
admired.  Demosthenes  was  fired  with  a  spirit  of 
emulation.     When  he  saw  with  what  distinction 


I98  THE    YOUTH'S 

the  orator  was  conducted  home,  and  complimented 
by  the  people,  he  was  struck  still  more  with  the 
power  of  that  commanding  eloquence  which  could 
carry  all  before  it.  From  this  time,  therefore,  he 
bade  adieu  to  the  other  studies  and  exercises  in 
which  boys  are  engaged,  and  applied  himself  with 
great  assiduity  to  declaiming,  in  hopes  of  being 
one  day  numbered  among  the  orators. 

When  he  had  attained  his  majority  he  called  his 
guardians  to  account  at  law,  and  he  wrote  ora- 
tions against  them ;  and  as  they  found  many 
methods  for  causing  delay,  he  had  plenty  of  op- 
portunities for  exercising  his  talent  as  an  orator 
at  the  bar.  At  first  he  was  laughed  at  and  inter- 
rupted, for  his  violence  of  manner  and  his  stam- 
mering made  it  very  difficult  to  understand  him. 
He  overcame  these  difficulties  by  retiring  to  the 
country,  where  he  practiced  and  studied  everyday 
both  action  and  speech ;  and  to  insure  his  not 
going  into  the  city,  he  shaved  off  the  hair  on  one 
side  of  his  head,  which  compelled  him  to  keep  in 
retirement  till  it  had  grown  again.  Feeling  con- 
fidence in  his  oratorical  powers,  he  returned  to 
the  bar,  and  soon  began  to  be  listened  to  and 
admired.  He  was  seldom  heard  to  speak  anything 
extempore ;  and  though  the  people  often  called 
upon  him  by  name,  as  he  sat  in  the  assembly,  to 
speak  to  the  point  debated,  he  would  not  do  it 
unless  he  came  prepared.  For  this  many  of  the 
orators  ridiculed  him  ;  and  Pytheas,  in  particular, 
told  him  "that  all  his  arguments  smelled  of  the 
lamp."     He   did   not  pretend  to  deny  his  previ- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  1 99 

ous  preparation,  but  told  the  orators  "that  he 
neither  wrote  the  whole  of  his  orations,  nor  spoke 
without  first  committing  part  to  writing."  He 
further  affirmed  "that  this  showed  him  a  good 
member  of  a  democratic  state ;  for  the  coming 
prepared  to  the  rostrum  was  a  mark  of  respect  for 
the  people. " 

As  for  his  personal  defects,  Demetrius,  the 
Phalerean,  gives  us  an  account  of  the  remedies 
he  applied  to  them  ;  and  he  says  he  had  it  from 
Demosthenes  in  his  old  age.  The  hesitation  and 
stammering  of  his  tongue  he  corrected  by  practic- 
ing to  speak  with  pebbles  in  his  mouth ;  and 
strengthened  his  voice  by  running  or  walking  up 
hill,  and  pronouncing  some  passage  in  an  oration 
or  a  poem  during  the  difficulty  of  breathing.  He 
had,  moreover,  a  looking-glass  in  his  house,  be- 
fore which  he  used  to  declaim,  and  adjust  all  his 
motions. 

When  Harpalus  fled  from  Alexander  (who  was 
in  Asia)  to  Athens,  laden  with  very  valuable 
treasures,  he  asked  the  Athenians  to  give  him 
shelter.  Most  of  the  orators  had  an  eye  on  the 
gold ;  but  Demosthenes  advised  that  Harpalus 
should  be  sent  off,  as  his  presence  in  Athens 
might  provoke  war.  Yet  a  few  days  after,  when 
they  were  looking  over  the  treasures,  Harpalus 
noticed  that  Demosthenes  seemed  particularly 
pleased  with  one  of  the  king's  cups,  and  stood 
admiring  the  workmanship  and  fashion.  He 
desired  him  to  take  it  in  his  hand,  and  feel  the 
weight  of  the  gold.     Demosthenes  being  surprised 


200  THE    YOUTHS 

at  the  weight,  and  asking  Harpalus  how  much  it 
might  bring,  he  smiled,  and  said,  "It  will  bring 
you  twenty  talents ;"  and  as  soon  as  it  was  night  he 
sent  him  the  cup  with  that  sum.  Harpalus  knew 
well  enough  how  to  distinguish  a  man's  passion 
for  gold  by  his  pleasure  at  the  sight,  and  the  keen 
looks  he  cast  upon  it.  Demosthenes  could  not 
resist  the  temptation  :  it  made  all  the  impression 
upon  him  that  was  expected ;  he  received  the 
money,  and  went  over  to  the  interest  of  Harpalus. 
Next  day  he  came  into  the  assembly  with  a  quan- 
tity of  wool  and  bandages  about  his  neck ;  and 
when  the  people  called  upon  him  to  get  up  and 
speak,  he  made  signs  that  he  had  lost  his  voice. 
Upon  this,  some  that  were  by  said,  "It  was  no 
common  hoarseness  he  had  got  in  the  night ;  it 
was  a  hoarseness  occasioned  by  swallowing  gold 
and  silver."  Afterward,  when  all  the  people 
were  apprised  of  his  taking  the  bribe,  and  he 
wanted  to  speak  in  his  own  defense,  they  would 
not  suffer  him,  but  raised  a  clamor,  and  expressed 
their  indignation.  At  the  same  time,  somebody 
or  other  stood  up,  and  said  sneeringly,  "Will  you 
not  listen  to  the  man  with  the  cup?" 

At  the  same  time,  Demosthenes,  seemingly  with 
a  design  to  prove  his  innocence,  moved  for  an 
order  that  the  affair  should  be  brought  before  the 
court  of  Areopagus,  and  all  persons  punished  who 
should  be  found  guilty  of  taking  bribes.  In  con- 
sequence of  which  he  appeared  before  that  court, 
and  was  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine 
of  fifty  talents,  and  to  be  imprisoned  till  it  was 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  201 

paid.  The  disgrace  of  his  conviction,  and  the 
weakness  of  his  constitution — which  could  not 
bear  close  confinement— determined  him  to  fly ; 
and  this  he  did.  He  bore  his  exile  in  a  very  weak 
and  effeminate  manner.  He  was  after  a  time 
recalled,  and  the  fine  paid  for  him  ;  but  he  did  not 
long  enjoy  the  return  to  his  country.  He  lost  his 
life  in  the  following  manner : — When  news  was 
brought  that  Antipater  and  Craterus  were  coming 
to  Athens,  Demosthenes  and  his  party  hastened 
to  escape,  and  the  people  immediately  condemned 
them  to  death.  As  they  fled  different  ways,  An- 
tipater sent  a  company  of  soldiers,  under  Archias, 
the  exile  hunter,  to  pursue  and  capture  them. 

Archias  being  informed  that  Demosthenes  had 
taken  sanctuary  in  the  temple  of  Neptune  at  Ca- 
lauria,  he  and  his  Thracian  soldiers  passed  over 
into  it  in  rowboats.  As  soon  as  he  was  landed 
he  went  to  the  orator,  and  endeavored  to  persuade 
him  to  quit  the  temple,  and  go  with  him  to  Anti- 
pater, assuring  him  that  he  had  no  hard  measure  to 
expect.  On  hearing  which,  Demosthenes  retired 
into  the  inner  part  of  the  temple  ;  and  taking  some 
paper,  as  if  he  meant  to  write,  he  put  the  pen  in 
his  mouth,  and  bit  it  a  considerable  time,  as  he 
used  to  do  when  thoughtful  about  his  composition. 
He  sucked  the  poison  from  his  pen,  after  which, 
he  covered  his  head,  fell  by  the  altar,  and  ex- 
pired. He  died  on  the  16th  of  October,  b.c.  322, 
aged  61,  leaving  behind  him  a  great  body  of 
orations. 


THE    YOUTHS 


CICERO. 


Note. — Cicero  (Roman).      Cicero  was  born  B.C.   106, 
the  same  year  of  Pompey's  birth,  and  died  b.c.  43. 

I  think  the  first  of  the  family  who  bore  the 
name  of  Cicero  must  have  been  an  extraordinary 
man  ;  and  for  that  reason  his  posterity  did  not  re- 
ject the  appellation,  but  rather  took  to  it  with 
pleasure,  though  it  was  a  common  subject  of  ridi- 
cule ;  for  the  Latins  called  a  vetch  "Cicer,"and 
he  had  a  flat  excrescence  on  the  tip  of  his  nose  in 
resemblance  of  a  vetch,  from  which  he  got  that 
surname.  As  for  the  Cicero  of  whom  we  are  writ- 
ing, his  friends  advised  him,  on  his  first  applica- 
tion to  business,  and  soliciting  one  of  the  great 
offices  of  state,  to  lay  aside  or  change  that  name. 
But  he  answered  with  great  spirit,  "  That  he  would 
endeavor  to  make  the  name  of  Cicero  more  glori- 
ous than  that  of  the  Scauri  and  the  Catuli." 
When  quaestor  in  Sicily,  he  consecrated  in  one  of 
the  temples  a  vase,  or  some  other  offering,  in 
silver,  upon  which  he  inscribed  his  first  two 
names,  Marcus  Tullius,  and,  punning  upon  the 
third,  ordered  the  artificer  to  engrave  a  vetch. 
Such  is  the  account  we  have  of  his  name.  As  he 
was  naturally  ambitious  of  honor,  and  being 
spurred  on  besides  by  his  father  and  his  friends, 
he  betook  himself  to  the  bar.  Nor  was  it  by  slow 
and  insensible  degrees  that  he  gained  the  palm  of 
eloquence  ;  his  fame  shot  forth  at  once,  and  he 
was  distinguished  above  all  the  orators  of  Rome. 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  203 

His  excellence  at  hitting  off  a  jest  or  repartee  ani- 
mated his  pleadings,  and  therefore  seemed  not 
foreign  to  the  business  of  the  forum  ;  but  by  bring- 
ing it  much  into  use  he  offended  numbers  of  peo- 
ple, and  got  the  character  of  a  malevolent  man. 
As  to  his  domestic  life,  we  read  that  he  had  a 
handsome  country-seat  at  Arphinum,  a  farm  near 
Naples,  and  another  at  Pompeii,  but  neither  of 
them  was  very  considerable.  His  wife  Terentia 
brought  him  a  fortune  of  a  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  denarii,  and  he  fell  heir  to  about  ninety 
thousand  more.  Upon  this  he  lived  in  a  genteel, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  frugal  manner,  with  men 
of  letters  about  him,  both  Greeks  and  Romans. 
He  rarely  took  his  meal  before  sunset ;  not  that 
business  or  study  prevented  his  sitting  down  to 
table  sooner,  but  the  weakness  of  his  stomach,  he 
thought,  required  that  regimen.  Indeed,  he  was 
so  exact  in  all  respects  in  the  care  of  his  health, 
that  he  had  his  stated  hours  for  rubbing  and  for 
the  exercise  of  walking.  By  this  management  of 
his  constitution,  he  gained  a  sufficient  stock  of 
health  and  strength  for  the  great  labors  and 
fatigues  he  afterward  underwent.  He  gave  up 
to  his  brother  the  town-house  which  belonged  to 
his  family,  and  took  up  his  residence  on  the  Pala- 
tine Hill,  that  those  who  came  to  pay  their  court 
to  him  might  not  have  far  to  go,  and  he  had  a 
levee  every  day. 

The  first  great  danger  which  Cicero  had  to 
guard  against  was  the  conspiracy  of  Catiline,  who, 
with   Lentulus  and  others,  resolved  to  kill  the 


204  THE    YOUTHS 

whole  senate,  and  as  many  other  citizens  as  they 
possibly  could ;  to  burn  the  city ;  and  to  spare 
none  but  the  sons  of  Pompey,  who  were  to  be  kept 
as  pledges  of  peace  with  that  general.  The  con- 
spirators had  fixed  on  a  night  during  the  feast  of 
the  Saturnalia  for  the  execution  of  their  enter- 
prise. They  had  lodged  arms  and  combustible 
matter  in  the  house  of  Cethegus.  They  had 
divided  Rome  into  a  hundred  parts,  and  selected 
the  same  number  of  men,  each  of  whom  was 
allotted  his  quarter  to  set  fire  to.  As  this  was  to 
be  done  by  them  all  at  the  same  moment,  they 
hoped  that  the  conflagration  would  be  general ; 
others  were  to  intercept  the  water,  and  kill  all  that 
went  to  seek  it. 

Cicero  discovered  the  conspiracy  in  time,  and 
caught  Catiline  and  the  rest  of  the  leading  con- 
spirators, who  were  put  to  death  privately.  As 
Cicero  passed  through  the  forum  to  go  to  his  own 
house,  the  people  hailed  him  with  loud  acclama- 
tions, and  called  him  "the  savior  and  second 
founder  of  Rome."  At  night  the  streets  were 
illuminated  with  a  multitude  of  lamps  and  torches 
placed  near  the  doors.  The  women  held  out 
lights  from  the  tops  of  the  houses,  that  they  might 
behold  and  pay  a  proper  compliment  to  the  man 
who  was  now  followed  with  solemnity  by  a  train 
of  the  greatest  men  in  Rome,  most  of  whom  had 
distinguished  themselves  by  successful  wars,  led 
up  triumphs,  and  enlarged  the  empire  both  by  sea 
and  land.  All  these,  in  their  discourse  with  each 
other  as  they   went    along,    acknowledged    that 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  205 

Rome  was  indebted  to  many  generals  and  great 
men  of  that  age  for  pecuniary  acquisitions,  for 
rich  spoils,  for  power,  but  for  preservation  and 
safety  to  Cicero  alone,  who  had  rescued  her  from 
so  great  and  dreadful  a  danger.  Not  that  his 
quashing  the  enterprise  and  punishing  the  delin- 
quents appeared  so  extraordinary  a  thing  ;  but  the 
wonder  was  that  he  could  suppress  the  greatest 
conspiracy  that  ever  existed  with  so  little  incon- 
venience to  the  state,  and  without  tumult. 

Though  he  had  an  insatiable  desire  for  gaining 
honor,  he  was  never  unwilling  that  others  should 
have  their  share,  for  he  was  entirely  free  from 
envy ;  and  it  appears  from  his  works  that  he  was 
most  liberal  in  his  praises,  not  only  of  the  an- 
cients, but  of  those  of  his  own  time.  Many  of  his 
remarkable  sayings,  too,  of  this  nature  are  pre- 
served. Thus,  of  Aristotle  he  said,  "That  he 
was  a  river  of  flowing  gold ;"  and  of  Plato's  dia- 
logues, "That  if  Jupiter  were  to  speak  he  would 
speak  as  Plato  did. "  Theophrastus  used  to  be 
his  "particular  favorite  ;"  and  being  asked  which 
of  Demosthenes'  orations  he  thought  the  best,  he 
answered,  "The  longest."  Some  who  affect  to  be 
zealous  admirers  of  that  orator  complain,  indeed, 
of  Cicero's  saying  in  one  of  his  epistles,  "that 
Demosthenes  sometimes  nodded  in  his  orations  ;" 
but  they  forget  the  many  great  encomiums  he 
bestowed  on  him  in  the  other  parts  of  his  works ; 
and  do  not  consider  that  he  gave  the  title  of  Philip- 
pics to  his  orations  against  Mark  Antony,  which 
were  the  most  elaborate  he  ever  wrote.     There 


206  THE    YOUTH'S 

was  not  one  of  his  contemporaries,  celebrated 
either  for  his  eloquence  or  philosophy,  whose 
fame  he  did  not  promote  either  by  speaking  or 
writing  of  him  in  an  advantageous  manner. 

Cicero's  enemies  were  at  last  numerous  enough 
to  get  him  banished.  The  people,  however,  paid 
no  regard  to  the  decree,  but  gave  him  succor  and 
protection.  His  villas  and  his  house  in  Rome 
were  burned,  and  Clodius  put  his  goods  up  to  auc- 
tion, and  the  crier  gave  notice  of  it  every  day,  but 
no  buyer  appeared. 

Cicero  was  recalled  sixteen  months  after  his 
banishment;  and  such  joy  was  expressed  by  the 
cities,  so  much  eagerness  to  meet  him  shown  by 
all  ranks  of  people,  that  his  own  account  of  it  is 
less  than  the  truth,  though  he  said  "that  Italy  had 
brought  him  on  her  shoulders  to  Rome." 

He  soon  regained  his  popularity,  and  daily  en- 
tertained at  his  own  charge  persons  of  honor  and 
learning,  not  with  magnificence  indeed,  but  with 
elegance  and  propriety.  He  had  no  porter  at  his 
gate,  nor  did  any  man  ever  find  him  in  bed ;  for 
he  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  kindly  received 
those  who  came  to  pay  their  court  to  him,  either 
standing  or  walking  before  his  door.  We  are  told 
that  he  never  caused  any  man  to  be  beaten  with 
rods,  or  to  have  his  garments  rent ;  never  uttered 
opprobrious  language  in  his  anger,  nor  added  in- 
sult to  punishment. 

After  the  battle  of  Pharsalia  between  Caesar  and 
Pompey,  and  after  the  flight  of  Pompey,  Cato 
desired  Cicero  to  take  command  of  part  of  the 
fleet,  but  he  declined  to  have  any  further  share  in 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  207 

the  war.  Upon  which  young  Pompey  and  his 
friends  called  him  traitor,  drew  their  swords,  and 
would  certainly  have  dispatched  him  had  not  Cato 
interposed  and  conveyed  him  out  of  the  camp. 
He  then  withdrew  from  public  business,  and  be- 
stowed his  leisure  on  the  young  men  who  were 
desirous  to  be  instructed  in  philosophy.  Cicero 
had  no  share  in  the  conspiracy  against  Caesar, 
though  he  was  a  particular  friend  of  Brutus.  An- 
other conspiracy  ended  in  the  proscription  of 
Cicero,  and  he  fled  by  ship  to  Cajeta,  where  he 
had  a  delightful  summer  retreat.  There  was  a 
temple  of  Apollo  on  that  coast,  from  which  it  was 
observed  that  a  flight  of  crows  came  with  a  great 
noise,  and  perched  on  the  sails  of  Cicero's  ship. 
All  looked  upon  this  as  an  ill  omen  ;  yet  Cicero 
went  on  shore,  and,  entering  his  house,  lay  down 
to  repose  himself.  In  the  meantime,  a  number  of 
the  crows  settled  in  the  chamber  window,  and 
croaked  in  the  most  doleful  manner.  One  of  them 
even  entered  it,  and,  alighting  on  the  bed,  at- 
tempted with  its  beak  to  draw  off  the  clothes 
with  which  he  had  covered  his  face.  At  sight  of 
this,  the  servants  began  to  reproach  themselves. 
"Shall  we,"  said  they,  "remain  to  be  spectators  of 
our  master's  murder?  Shall  we  not  protect  him, 
so  innocent  and  so  great  a  sufferer  as  he  is,  when 
the  brute  creatures  give  him  marks  of  their  care 
and  attention?"  Then  partly  by  entreat)',  partly 
by  force,  they  got  him  into  his  litter,  and  carried 
him  toward  the  sea. 

Meantime   the   assassins  came  up,  and  Cicero 
fell  in  the  sixty -fourth  year  of  his  age. 


208  THE    YOUTH'S 


DEMETRIUS. 

Note. — Demetrius  (Macedonian).  Demetrius  was 
born  B.C.  338,  and,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  com- 
manded the  army  sent  against  Ptolemy,  by  whom 
he  was  defeated  near  Gaza. 

Demetrius,  though  tall,  was  not  equal  in  height 
to  his  father,  Antigonus.  But  his  beauty  and  his 
mien  were  so  inimitable  that  no  sculptor  or  painter 
could  hit  off  a  likeness.  His  countenance  had  a 
mixture  of  grace  and  dignity,  and  was  at  once 
amiable  and  awful ;  and  the  unsubdued  and  eager 
air  of  youth  was  blended  with  the  majesty  of  the 
hero  and  the  king.  There  was  the  same  happy 
mixture  in  his  behavior,  which  inspired,  at  the 
same  time,  both  pleasure  and  awe.  In  his  hours  of 
leisure,  he  was  a  most  agreeable  companion  ;  at  his 
table,  and  every  species  of  entertainment,  of  all 
princes  he  was  the  most  delicate  ;  and  yet,  when 
business  called,  nothing  could  equal  his  activity, 
his  diligence,  and  dispatch  ;  in  which  respect  he 
imitated  Bacchus  most  of  all  the  gods,  since  he 
was  not  only  terrible  in  war,  but  knew  how  to 
terminate  war  with  peace,  and  turn  with  the  hap- 
piest address  to  the  joys  and  pleasures  which 
peace  inspires.  His  affection  for  his  father  was 
remarkably  great ;  and  in  the  respect  he  paid  his 
mother,  his  love  for  his  other  parent  was  very 
discernible. 

His  war  with  the  Rhodians  was  occasioned  by 
their  alliance  with  Ptolemy  ;   and  in  the  course  of 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  209 

it  he  brought  the  largest  of  his  helepoles  up  to 
their  walls.  Its  base  was  square  ;  each  of  its  sides 
at  the  bottom  forty- eight  cubits  wide,  and  it  was 
sixty-six  cubits  high.  The  sides  of  the  several 
divisions  gradually  lessened,  so  that  the  top  was 
much  narrower  than  the  bottom.  The  inside  was 
divided  into  several  stories  or  rooms,  one  above 
another.  The  front,  which  was  turned  toward 
the  enemy,  had  a  window  in  each  storey,  through 
which  missive  weapons  of  various  kinds  were 
thrown  ;  for  it  was  filled  with  men  who  practiced 
every  method  of  fighting.  It  neither  shook  nor 
veered  the  least  in  its  motion,  but  rolled  on  in  a 
steady  upright  position,  and  moved  with  a  horri- 
ble noise.  He  had  two  coats  of  mail  brought  from 
Cyprus  for  his  use  in  this  war,  each  of  which 
weighed  forty  mina3.  Zolius,  the  maker,  to  show 
the  excellence  of  their  temper,  ordered  a  dart  to 
be  shot  at  one  of  them  from  an  engine  at  the  dis- 
tance of  twenty-six  paces,  and  it  stood  so  firm  that 
there  was  no  more  mark  upon  it  than  what  might 
be  made  with  a  writing-stylus. 

People  have  remarked  that  Demetrius  always 
appeared  like  a  theatrical  king.  He  not  only 
affected  a  superfluity  of  ornament  in  wearing  a 
double  diadem,  and  a  robe  of  purple  interwoven 
with  gold,  but  he  had  his  shoes  made  of  a  cloth  of 
gold,  with  soles  of  fine  purple.  There  was  a  robe 
a  long  time  in  weaving  for  him,  of  most  sumptu- 
ous magnificence.  The  figure  of  the  world  and 
all  the  heavenly  bodies  were  to  be  represented 
upon  it ;  but  it  was  left  unfinished  on  account  of 
14 


2IO  THE    YOUTH  S 

his  change  of  fortune.  Nor  did  any  of  his  succes- 
sors ever  presume  to  wear  it,  though  Macedon  had 
many  pompous  kings  after  him.  This  ostentation 
of  dress  offended  a  people  who  were  unaccustomed 
to  such  sights ;  but  his  luxurious  and  dissolute 
manner  of  life  was  a  more  obnoxious  circumstance  ; 
and  what  disobliged  them  most  of  all  was  his  dif- 
ficulty of  access  ;  for  he  either  refused  to  see  those 
who  applied  to  him,  or  behaved  to  them  in  a  harsh 
and  haughty  manner. 

One  day,  when  he  seemed  to  come  out  in  a  more 
obliging  temper,  and  to  be  more  accessible,  he 
was  presented  with  several  petitions,  all  which 
he  received,  and  put  them  in  the  skirt  of  his  robe. 
The  people  of  course  followed  him  with  great  joy  ; 
but  no  sooner  was  he  come  to  the  bridge  over  the 
Axius  than  he  opened  his  robe  and  shook  all  the 
petitions  into  the  river.  This  stung  the  Macedo- 
nians to  the  heart ;  when,  looking  for  the  protection 
of  a  king,  they  found  the  insolence  of  a  tyrant. 
An  old  woman  was  one  day  very  troublesome  to 
him  in  the  street,  and  begged  with  great  impor- 
tunity to  be  heard.  He  said,  "He  was  not  at 
leisure."  "Then,"  cried  the  old  woman,  "you 
should  not  be  a  king."  The  king  was  struck  with 
these  words ;  and  having  considered  a  moment, 
he  returned  to  his  palace,  where,  postponing  all 
other  affairs,  he  gave  audience  for  several  days 
to  all  who  chose  to  apply  to  him,  beginning  with 
the  old  woman. 

In  a  battle  with  his  son-in-law,  Seleucus,  he 
was  abandoned   by  his  soldiers,  captured,  and, 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  211 

after  three  years'  confinement,  he  died  of  a  dis- 
temper occasioned  by  idleness  and  excess.  This 
happened  B.C.  284,  when  he  was  fifty-four  years 
of  age. 

ANTONY. 

Note. — Antony  (Roman).  Antony  the  triumvir  was 
born  about  B.C.  83.  The  full  story  of  his  remark- 
able career  and  his  death,  with  that  of  Cleopatra, 
are  given  by  Plutarch. 

Mark  Antony  had  a  noble  dignity  of  counte- 
nance, a  graceful  length  of  beard,  a  large  fore- 
head, an  aquiline  nose  ;  and,  upon  the  whole,  the 
same  manly  aspect  that  we  see  in  the  pictures  and 
statues  of  Hercules.  There  was,  indeed,  an  an- 
cient tradition  that  his  family  was  descended  from 
Hercules,  and  it  was  no  wonder  if  Antony  sought 
to  confirm  this  opinion  by  affecting  to  resemble 
him  in  his  air  and  his  dress.  Thus,  when  he  ap- 
peared in  public,  he  wore  his  vest  girt  on  the  hips, 
a  large  sword,  and  over  all  a  mantle.  His  liber- 
ality to  the  soldiers  and  to  his  friends  was  the 
first  foundation  of  his  advancement,  and  continued 
to  support  him  in  that  power  which  he  was  other- 
wise weakening  by  a  thousand  irregularities. 

In  the  conspiracy  against  Caesar  it  was  proposed 
that  Antony  too  should  be  killed,  but  Brutus 
effectually  opposed  the  suggestion.  Antony  did 
not  know  of  the  plot  against  Caesar,  and  was 
much  concerned  when  he  heard  of  the  assassina- 
tion. When  Cassar  was  slain,  Antony  absconded 
in  the  disguise  of  a  slave  ;  but  after  he  found  that 


212  THE    YOUTHS 

the  conspirators  were  assembled  in  the  capitol, 
and  had  no  further  designs  of  massacre,  he  assem- 
bled the  senate,  when  he  proposed  that  an  act  of 
amnesty  should  be  passed ;  and  when  Csesar's 
body  was  exposed  in  the  forum  he  undertook  the 
customary  funeral  oration  ;  and  when  he  found  the 
people  affected  with  his  encomiums  on  the  de- 
ceased, he  endeavored  still  more  to  excite  their 
compassion  by  all  that  was  pitiable  or  aggravat- 
ing in  the  massacre. 

Antony  fought  the  enemies  of  Caesar  with  some 
success,  but  was  in  the  end  defeated  and  had  to 
fly.  He  was  in  terrible  straits  when  he  set  out  in 
his  expedition  against  the  Parthians,  and  he  sent 
for  Cleopatra  to  answer  some  charges  which  had 
been  laid  against  her  of  assisting  his  enemies  in 
the  war.  Prepared,  therefore,  with  such  treas- 
ures, ornaments,  and  presents,  as  were  suitable 
to  the  dignity  and  affluence  of  her  kingdom,  but 
chiefly  relying  on  her  personal  charms,  she  set 
off  for  Cilicia,  to  meet  Antony. 

She  sailed  along  the  river  Cydnus  in  a  most 
magnificent  galley.  The  stern  was  covered  with 
gold,  the  sails  were  of  purple,  and  the  oars  were 
silver.  These,  in  their  motion,  kept  time  to  the 
music  of  flutes  and  pipes  and  harps.  The  queen, 
in  the  dress  and  character  of  Venus,  lay  under  a 
canopy  embroidered  with  gold  of  the  most  ex- 
quisite workmanship ;  while  boys,  like  painted 
Cupids,  stood  fanning  her  on  each  side  of  the 
couch.  Her  maids  were  of  the  most  distinguished 
beauty,  and,    habited   like   the   Nereids   and   the 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  213 

Graces,  assisted  in  the  steering"  and  conduct  of 
the  vessel.  The  fragrance  of  burning  incense 
was  diffused  along  the  shores,  which  were  covered 
with  multitudes  of  people.  Some  followed  the 
procession,  and  numbers  went  down  from  the  city 
to  see  it.  Antony  sent  to  invite  her  to  supper ; 
but  she  thought  it  his  duty  to  wait  upon  her  ;  so, 
to  show  his  politeness,  on  her  arrival  he  complied. 
He  was  astonished  at  the  magnificence  of  the 
preparations,  but  particularly  at  the  multitude  of 
lights,  which  were  raised  or  let  down  together, 
and  disposed  in  such  a  variety  of  square  and  cir- 
cular figures  that  they  afforded  one  of  the  most 
pleasing  spectacles  that  has  been  recorded  in  his- 
tory. The  day  following  Antony  invited  her  to 
sup  with  him,  and  was  ambitious  to  outdo  her  in 
the  elegance  and  magnificence  of  the  entertain- 
ment. But  he  was  soon  convinced  that  he  came 
short  of  her  in  both,  and  was  the  first  to  ridicule 
the  meanness  and  vulgarity  of  the  feast.  Notable 
was  the  variety  of  her  powers  in  conversation  ; 
her  beauty,  however,  was  neither  astonishing  nor 
inimitable,  but  it  derived  a  force  from  her  wit  and 
her  fascinating  manner,  which  was  absolutely 
irresistible.  Her  voice  was  delightfully  melodi- 
ous, and  had  the  same  variety  of  modulation  as 
a  instrument  of  many  strings.  She  spoke  most 
languages,  and  there  were  but  few  of  the  foreign 
ambassadors  whom  she  answered  by  an  interpreter. 
To  mention  all  Antony's  follies  would  be  too 
trifling  ;  but  his  fishing  story  must  not  be  omitted. 
He  was  a-fishing  one  day  with    Cleopatra,    and 


2  14  THE    YOUTH  S 

had  ill  success,  which  in  her  presence  he  could  but 
look  upon  as  a  disgrace  ;  and  he  therefore  ordered 
one  of  the  assistants  to  dive,  and  put  on  his  hook 
fish  which  had  been  taken  before.  This  scheme 
he  put  in  practice  three  or  four  times,  and  Cleo- 
patra perceived  it.  She  affected,  however,  to  be 
surprised  at  his  success,  expressed  her  wonder  to 
the  people  about  her,  and  the  day  following  in- 
vited them  to  see  fresh  proofs  of  it.  When  the 
day  following  came,  the  vessel  was  crowded  with 
people ;  and  as  soon  as  Antony  had  let  down  his 
line  she  ordered  one  of  her  divers  immediately  to 
put  a  salt  fish  on  his  hook.  When  Antony  found 
be  had  caught  his  fish,  he  drew  up  his  line;  and 
this,  as  may  be  supposed,  occasioned  no  small 
mirth  amongst  the  spectators.  "Go,  general !"  said 
Cleopatra,  "leave  fishing  to  us  petty  princes  of 
Pharus  and  Canopus ;  your  game  is  cities,  king- 
doms, and  provinces. " 

After  the  battle  of  Actium,  where  Antony  was 
defeated,  it  was  reported  that  Cleopatra  had  killed 
herself,  and  Antony  immediately  determined  to 
follow  her  example.  He  plunged  his  sword  into 
his  body,  and  threw  himself  on  a  couch.  The 
wound,  however,  was  not  so  deep  as  to  cause  im- 
mediate death.  His  friends  all  fled,  and  left  him 
to  his  cries  and  torments,  till  Diomedes,  secretary 
to  Cleopatra,  came  with  her  request  that  he  would 
come  to  her  in  the  monument.  When  Antony 
found  that  she  was  still  living,  it  gave  him  fresh 
spirits,  and  he  ordered  his  servants  to  carry  him 
in  their  arms  to  the  door  of  the  monument.     Cle- 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  215 

opatra  would  not  suffer  the  door  to  be  opened, 
but  a  rope  being  let  down  from  a  window,  Antony 
was  fastened  to  it,  and  she,  with  her  two  women 
(all  that  were  admitted  into  the  monument),  drew 
him  up.  Nothing  could  possibly  be  more  affect- 
ing than  that  spectacle.  Antony  soon  after  ex- 
pired, and  the  death  of  Cleopatra  followed. 

It  is  related  by  some  than  an  asp  was  brought  in 
among  some  figs,  and  hid  under  the  leaves,  and 
that  Cleopatra  had  arranged  so  that  she  might  be 
bitten  without  seeing  it.  It  is  affirmed  that  she  had 
two  small  punctures  on  her  arm,  apparently  occa- 
sioned by  the  sting  of  the  asp  ;  and  it  is  clear  that 
Csesar  gave  credit  to  this,  for  her  effigy,  which  he 
carried  in  triumph,  had  an  asp  on  the  arm;  and 
though  Csesar  was  much  disappointed  at  her 
death,  he  admired  her  fortitude,  and  ordered  her 
to  be  buried  in  the  tomb  of  Antony,  with  all  the 
magnificence  due  to  her  quality.  She  died  at  the 
age  of  thirty--nine,  after  having  reigned  twenty- 
two  years,  the  last  fourteen  in  conjunction  with 
Antony.  Antony  was  fifty-three,  some  say  fifty- 
six,  years  old  when  he  died. 

DION. 

Note.— Dion  (Syracusan).     Dion  was  born  b.c  408  and 
his  death  took  place  fifty-five  years  later. 

Amongst  the  many  pupils  of  the  famous  philoso- 
pher Plato,  Dion  was  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished. To  the  fertility  of  his  genius,  and  the 
excellence  of  his  disposition,  Plato  himself  has 


2l6  .  THE    YOUTH'S 

given  testimony,  and  he  did  the  greatest  honor  to 
that  testimony  in  his  life.  For  though  he  had 
been  educated  in  servile  principles  under  the 
tyrant  Dionysius, — though  he  had  been  familiar- 
ized to  dependence,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the 
indulgence  of  pomp  and  luxury,  as  the  greatest 
happiness,  on  the  other, — yet  he  was  no  sooner 
acquainted  with  that  philosophy  which  points  out 
the  road  to  virtue,  than  his  whole  soul  caught  the 
enthusiasm,  and,  with  the  simplicity  of  a  young 
man  who  judges  of  the  dispositions  of  others,  by 
his  own,  he  concluded  that  Plato's  lectures  would 
have  the  same  effect  on  Dionysius.  For  this  rea- 
son he  solicited,  and  at  length  persuaded,  the 
tyrant  to  hear  him.  When  Plato  was  admitted, 
the  discourse  turned  on  virtue  in  general.  After- 
ward they  came  to  fortitude  in  particular ;  and 
Plato  made  it  appear  that  tyrants  have  of  all  men 
the  least  pretence  to  that  virtue.  Justice  was  the 
next  topic  ;  and  when  Plato  asserted  the  happiness 
of  the  just,  and  the  wretched  condition  of  the 
unjust,  the  tyrant  was  stung ;  and  being  unable 
to  answer  his  arguments,  he  expressed  his  resent- 
ment against  those  who  seemed  to  listen  to  him 
with  pleasure.  At  last  he  was  extremely  exasper- 
ated, and  asked  the  philosopher  what  business  he 
had  in  Sicily?  Plato  answered,  "That  he  came  to 
seek  an  honest  man."  "And  so,  then,"  replied 
the  tyrant,  "it  seems  you  have  lost  your  labor." 
It  was  not  long  before  the  tyrant  turned  his  hate 
against  Dion,  and  accused  him  of  conspiring 
against  him,  and  he  banished  him. 


PLUTARCH'S    LIVES.  217 

Dionysius  now  removed  Plato  into  the  citadel, 
under  color  of  kindness  ;  but  in  reality  to  set  a 
guard  upon  him,  lest  he  should  follow  Dion,  and 
proclaim  to  the  world  how  injuriously  he  had  been 
treated.  But  in  the  course  of  time  Plato  managed 
to  gain  the  favor  of  the  tyrant,  and  was  admitted 
into  his  presence  without  the  usual  formality  of 
being  searched.  This  form  had  to  be  gone  through 
by  every  one,  even  by  his  wife  and  children,  before 
they  were  admitted  to  his  presence,  for  fear  that 
they  should  have  weapons  or  poison  about  them. 
The  king  would  not  even  trust  himself  to  the  bar- 
ber, but  burned  off  his  beard  with  a  live  coal. 

Dion  was  at  length  able  to  march  at  the  head 
of  a  formidable  army,  against  Dionysius.  He 
reached  Syracuse  almost  without  opposition,  and 
the  principal  inhabitants,  clad  in  white,  met  him 
at  the  gates  and  greeted  him  as  their  deliverer. 
The  populace  fell  with  great  fury  on  Dionysius' 
party,  but  in  particular  they  seized  his  spies,  a  set 
of  wretches  hated  by  gods  and  men,  who  went 
about  the  city  to  collect  the  sentiments  of  the 
inhabitants  in  order  to  communicate  them  to  the 
tyrant. 

Dion  had  a  friend  named  Calippus,  an  Athenian, 
with  whom  he  first  became  acquainted,  not  on 
account  of  his  literary  merit,  but,  according  to 
Plato,  because  he  happened  to  be  introduced  by 
him  to  some  religious  mysteries.  He  had  always 
attended  him  in  the  army,  and  was  in  great  es- 
teem. He  was,  as  before  mentioned,  the  first  of 
his  friends   who   marched   along  with  him    into 


2l8  THE    YOUTH'S 

Syracuse,  and  he  had  distinguished  himself  in 
every  action.  This  man,  finding  that  Dion's 
chief  friends  had  fallen  in  the  war,  that  since  the 
death  of  Heraclides  the  popular  party  was  without 
a  leader,  and  that  he  himself  stood  in  great  favor 
with  the  army,  formed  an  execrable  design  against 
the  life  of  his  benefactor,  which  was  successful. 

Dion  was  fifty  years  old  when  he  was  assassi- 
nated. 

MARCUS   BRUTUS. 

Note. — Marcus  Brutus  (Roman).  The  mother  of 
Marcus  Brutus  was  a  sister  of  Cato.  As  stated  in 
the  following  sketch  of  his  career,  his  death  oc- 
curred b.c.  42,  when  he  was  in  his  forty-third  year. 

Brutus  had  all  the  advantages  that  arise  from 
the  cultivation  of  philosophy.  To  his  spirit, 
which  was  naturally  sedate  and  mild,  he  gave 
vigor  and  activity  by  constant  application.  Upon 
the  whole,  he  was  happily  formed  to  virtue,  both 
by  nature  and  education.  Even  the  partisans  of 
Caesar  ascribe  to  him  everything  that  had  the 
appearance  of  honor  or  generosity  in  the  conspir- 
acy, and  all  that  was  of  a  contrary  character 
they  laid  to  the  charge  of  Cassius,  who  was,  in- 
deed, the  friend  and  relation  of  Brutus,  but  by  no 
means  resembled  him  in  the  simplicity  of  his 
manners. 

The  popularity  of  the  conspiracy  against  Caesar 
made  Brutus  feel  that  the  safety  of  some  of  the 
greatest  men  in  Rome  depended  on  his  conduct, 
and  he  could  not  think  of  the  danger  they  were  to 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  219 

encounter  without  anxiety.  When  the  day  fixed 
for  the  assassination  came,  Brutus  went  out,  and 
took  with  him  a  dagger,  which  last  circumstance 
was  known  only  to  his  wife.  The  rest  of  the  con- 
spirators met  at  the  house  of  Cassius,  and  con- 
ducted his  son,  who  was  that  day  to  put  on  the 
toga  virilis,  to  the  forum  ;  from  whence  they  pro- 
ceeded to  Pompey's  portico,  and  waited  for  Csesar. 
Though  the  day  was  far  spent,  still  Csesar  did  not 
come,  being  detained  by  his  wife  and  the  sooth- 
sayers. 

The  senate  was  already  seated,  and  the  conspir- 
ators soon  got  close  about  Caesar's  chair,  under 
pretense  of  preferring  a  suit  to  him.  Cassius 
turned  his  face-  to  Pompey's  statue,  and  invoked 
it,  as  if  it  had  been  sensible  of  his  prayers.  Tre- 
bonius  kept  Antony  in  conversation  outside  the 
court.  And  now  Csesar  entered,  and  the  whole 
senate  rose  to  salute  him.  The  conspirators 
crowded  around  him,  and  sent  Tullius  Cimber, 
one  of  their  number,  to  solicit  the  recall  of  his 
brother,  who  was  banished.  They  all  united  in 
the  solicitation,  took  hold  of  Caesar's  hand,  and 
kissed  his  head  and  his  breast.  He  rejected  their 
applications,  and,  finding  that  they  would  not  de- 
sist, at  length  rose  from  his  seat  in  anger.  Tul- 
lius, upon  this,  laid  hold  of  his  robe,  and  pulled  it 
from  his  shoulders.  Casca,  who  stood  behind, 
gave  him  the  first,  though  but  a  slight  wound, 
with  his  dagger  near  the  shoulder.  Caesar  caught 
the  handle  of  the  dagger,  and  said,  "Villain! 
Casca !     What    dost    thou    mean  ?"      Caesar  was 


220  THE    YOUTH'S 

wounded  by  numbers  almost  at  the  same  instant, 
and  looked  round  him  for  some  way  to  escape ; 
but  when  he  saw  the  dagger  of  Brutus  pointed 
against  him,  he  let  go  Casca's  hand,  and,  covering 
his  head  with  his  robe,  resigned  himself  to  their 
swords.  The  conspirators  pressed  so  eagerly  to 
stab  him  that  they  wounded  each  other.  Brutus, 
in  attempting  to  have  his  share  in  the  sacrifice, 
received  a  wound  in  his  hand,  and  all  of  them 
were  covered  with  blood. 

Early  next  morning  the  senate  assembled  again, 
and  voted  thanks  to  Antony  for  preventing  a  civil 
war,  as  well  as  to  Brutus  and  his  party  for  their 
services  to  the  commonwealth. 

At  the  battle  of  Philippi  Brutus  was  defeated 
by  the  young  Caesar,  and  being  unable  to  bear  the 
ignominy,  he  killed  himself,  b.  c.  42. 

<■ 

ARTAXERXES. 

Note. — Artaxerxes  (Persian).  Artaxerxes  was  the 
third  son  of  Xerxes.  He  murdered  his  brother 
Darius  and  ascended  the  throne  of  Persia  B.C.  465. 
He  died  B.C.  424  and  was  succeeded  by  Xerxes.  It 
is  generally  believed  that  Artaxerxes  was  the 
Ahasueras  of  Scripture,  who  married  Esther.  Ar- 
taxerxes, surnamed  Mnemon,  the  eldest  son  of 
Darius,  began  his  reign  in  B.C.  404  and  ruled  for 
fortv-two  years. 

Artaxerxes  the  First,  who  of  all  the  Persian 
kings  was  the  most  distinguished  for  his  modera- 
tion and  greatness  of  mind,  was  surnamed  Longi- 
manus,  because  his  right  hand  was  longer  than 
his  left.     He  was  the  son  of  Xerxes.     The  second 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  221 

Artaxerxes,  of  whom  we  now  write,  was  sur- 
named  Mnemon,  because  of  his  wonderful  mem- 
ory. Soon  after  the  death  of  Darius,  the  king, 
his  successor,  went  to  Pasargadse,  in  order  to  be 
consecrated,  according  to  custom,  by  the  priests 
of  Persia.  In  that  city  there  is  the  temple  of  a 
goddess  who  has  the  affairs  of  war  under  her 
patronage,  and,  therefore,  may  be  supposed  to  be 
Minerva.  The  prince  to  be  consecrated  must 
enter  that  temple,  put  off  his  own  robe  there,  and 
take  that  which  was  worn  by  the  great  Cyrus  be- 
fore he  was  king.  He  must  eat  a  cake  of  figs,  chew 
some  turpentine,  and  drink  a  cup  of  acidulated 
milk.  Whether  there  are  any  other  ceremonies 
is  unknown,  except  to  the  persons  concerned. 

One  of  the  chief  military  exploits  during  this 
reign  was  the  great  battle  of  Cunaxa,  in  which 
Cyrus,  the  king's  brother,  was  defeated  and  slain. 

The  horrid  punishment  of  "The  Boat"  is  thus 
described  by  Plutarch  :— They  take  two  boats, 
which  are  made  to  fit  on  each  other,  and  extend 
the  criminal  in  one  of  them  in  a  supine  posture. 
Then  they  turn  the  other  boat  upon  it,  so  that  the 
poor  wretch's  body  is  covered,  and  only  the  head 
and  hands  are  out  at  one  end,  and  the  feet  at  the 
other.  They  give  him  victuals  daily,  and  if  he  re- 
fuses to  eat,  they  compel  him  by  pricking  him  in 
the  eyes.  After  he  has  eaten,  they  make  him 
drink  a  mixture  of  honey  and  milk,  which  they 
pour  into  his  mouth.  They  spread  the  same,  too, 
over  his  face,  and  always  turn  him  so  as  to  have 
the  sun  full  in  his  eyes ;  the  consequence  of  which 


222  THE    YOUTH  S 

is,  that  his  face  is  covered  with  swarms  of  flies. 
The  poor  victim  is  thus  left  to  die  a  lingering 
death.  The  unfortunate  victim  in  this  case  was 
named  Mithridates,  and  he  found  death  in  seven- 
teen days. 

Artaxerxes  died  a  natural  death  at  the  age  of 
ninety-four  years. 

ARATUS. 

Note. — Aratus   (Greek).      This   Greek   poet   and  as- 
tronomer was  born  in  Cilicia  and  nourished  about 

B.C.  30O. 

When  only  seven  years  old  Aratus  escaped  as- 
sassination. He  was  educated  by  the  friends  of 
his  family  at  Argos  in  a  liberal  manner,  and  as 
he  was  vigorous  and  robust  he  took  to  gymnastic 
exercises  and  gained  many  prizes.  Indeed,  in  his 
statues  there  is  an  athletic  look.  Hence,  perhaps, 
it  was  that  he  cultivated  his  powers  of  eloquence 
less  than  became  a  statesman.  He  might,  indeed, 
be  a  better  speaker  than  some  suppose  ;  and  there 
are  those  who  judge,  from  his  commentaries,  that 
he  certainly  was  so,  though  they  were  hastily 
written,  and  attempted  nothing  beyond  common 
language. 

After  a  revolution,  the  government  of  Sicyon 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Nicoles,  and  in  order  to  re- 
store the  country  to  liberty  Aratus  killed  him. 
Aratus  was  very  jealous  of  tyrannical  power,  and 
joined  the  republic  of  Sicyon  in  the  Achaean 
league.  He  was  chosen  the  first  commander  of 
the  Achaean  armies,  and  he  drove  the  Macedonians 


PLUTARCH  S    LIVES.  223 

out  of  Athens  and  Corinth.  He  then  made  war 
against  the  Spartans,  bnt  was  conquered  by  Cle- 
omenes,  their  king.  He  was  more  successful  in 
his  next  campaign,  and  Cleomenes  was  defeated. 
Aratus  had  soon  afterward  to  seek  the  aid  of 
Philip,  King  of  Macedonia;  and  he  had  to  repent 
of  the  acquaintance,  for  Philip,  dreading  the  power 
and  influence  of  Aratus,  caused  him  and  his  son 
to  be  poisoned. 

Thus  died  Aratus  at  iEgium,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-one,  after  he  had  been  seventeen  times  gen- 
eral of  the  Achaeans.  That  people  were  desirous  of 
having  him  buried  there,  and  would  have  thought 
it  an  honor  to  give  him  a  magnificent  funeral, 
and  a  monument  worthy  of  his  life  and  character. 
But  the  Sicyonians  considered  it  as  a  misfortune 
to  have  him  interred  anywhere  but  amongst 
them,  and  therefore  persuaded  the  Achaeans  to 
leave  the  disposal  of  the  body  entirely  to  them. 
As  there  was  an  ancient  law  that  had  been  ob- 
served with  religious  care,  against  burying  any 
person  within  their  walls,  and  they  were  afraid  to 
transgress  it  on  this  occasion,  they  sent  to  inquire 
of  the  priestess  of  Apollo  at  Delphi.  She  returned 
a  favorable  answer,  which  gave  great  joy  to  all 
the  Achaeans,  particularly  the  people  of  Sicyon. 
They  changed  the  day  of  mourning  into  a  festival, 
and,  adorning  themselves  with  garlands  and  white 
robes,  brought  the  corpse  with  songs  and  dances 
from  .^Egium  to  Sicyon.  There  they  selected  the 
most  conspicuous  ground,  and  interred  Aratus  as 
the  founder  and  deliverer  of  their  city. 


WEIGHTS  AND    MEASURES 

MENTIONED    IN 

PLUTARCH'S    LIVES 


WEIGHTS. 

lb.      oz. 

dwt 

Fir. 

Mina  or  pound,  Attic, 

...      II 

7 

i6f 

Talent  (sixty  minse) ,  Attic, 

•    56      II 

7 

I7f 

Libra  or  pound,  Roman, 

...       IO 

17 

MEASURES   OF   LENGTH. 

Pace.* 

ft. 

in. 

Foot,  Roman, 

0 

II| 

Cubit,  Roman, 

1 

ft 

Pace,  Roman, 

4 

IO 

Furlong,  Roman, 

120 

4 

4 

Mile,  Roman, 

967 

0 

0 

Cubit,  Grecian, 

1 

6* 

Furlong,  Grecian, 

100 

4 

4* 

Mile,  Grecian, 

805 

5 

0 

MONEY. 

$    ct. 

Quadrans i 

As, -I 

Sestertius, 04 

Sestertium  (=  1000  sestertii),  .         .     40.00 

Denarius, 1.5 

Obolus,  Attic 08 

Drachma, 16 

Mina  (100  drachmae),  ....     10.00 

Talent  (60  minse), 960.00 

The  Attic  talent  was  equal  to  about  $1,180;  the 
Hebrew,  $1,645  to  $1,916. 

*The  English  pace  is  calculated  at  5  feet. 
224 


A 

CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLE 

From  Dacier  and  Other  Writers 


B.C. 

Deucalion's  deluge 1511 

Minos  I.,  son  of  Jupiter  and  Europa     1401 

Minos  II.,  grandson  of  the  first 1250 

THESEUS.— The  expedition  of  the  Argonauts.  The- 
seus attended  Jason  in  it 1228 

Troy  taken.  Demophoon,  the  son  of  Theseus,  was  at 

the  siege 1180 

The  return  of  the  Heraclidone  to  Peloponnesus 1101 

The  first  war  of  the  Athenians  against  Sparta 1068 

Codrus,  the  last  king  of  Athens,  sacrifices  himself 

for  his  country 1068 

The  Helots  subdued  by  Agis 1055 

The  Ionic  migration 1040 

LYCURGUS  flourishes 904 

The  First  Olympiad.  774 

ROMULUS.  -Rome  built 750 

The  death  of  Romulus 713 

NUMA  POMPILIUS.-Numa  elected  king 712 

Numa  dies 669 

SOLON.— Solon  flourishes 598 

Cylon's  conspiracy 

Epimenides  goes  to  Athens,  and  expiates  the  city.  He 
dies  soon  after,  at  the  age  of  154.    The  seven  wise 

men:    JEsop  and  Anacharsis  flourish 594 

15 


226  A    CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 

B.C. 

Solon  Archon 592 

Croesus,  king  of  Lydia 590 

Pythagoras  goes  into  Italy 578 

Pisistratus  sets  up  his  tyranny 570 

Cyrus,  king  of  Persia 557 

Croesus  taken 547 

PUBLICOLA  is  chosen  consul  in  the  room  of  Colla- 
tinus.    Brutus  fights  Aruns,  the  eldest  son  of  Tar- 

quin.     Both  are  killed 506 

Publicola  consul  the  third  time.    His  colleague,  Hora- 
tius  Pulvillus,  dedicates  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Capi- 

tolinus 504 

Horatius  Codes  defends  the  Sublician  bridge  against 

the  Tuscans 502 

Publicola  dies 500 

Zeno  Eleates  flourished 499 

The  battle  of  Marathon 489 

CORIOLANUS  is  banished,  and  retires  to  the  Volsci  488 

Herodotus  is  born 486 

Coriolanus  besieges  Rome;  but  being  prevailed  upon 
by  his  mother  to  retire,  is  stoned  to  death  by  the 

Volsci 485 

ARISTIDES  is  banished  for  ten  years,  but  recalled 

at  the  expiration  of  three 481 

THEMISTOCLES.— The  battle  of  Salamis 478 

The  battle  of  Plataea 477 

Thucydides  is  born 474 

Themistocles  is  banished  by  the  Ostracism 469 

Artaxerxes  ascends  the  throne  of  Persia 465 

CIMON  beats  the  Persians  both  at  sea  and  land 460 

Socrates  is  born.     He  lived  71  years 469 

Cimon  dies.    Alcibiades  born  the  same  year.    Herod- 
otus and  Thucydides  flourish;  the  latter  is  twelve 

or  thirteen  years  younger  than  the  former 449 

Pindar  dies,  80  years  old 440 

PERICLES  stirs  up  the  Peloponnesian  war,   which 
lasts  27  years.     He  was  very  young  when  the  Ro- 
mans sent  the  Decemviri  to  Athens  for  Solon's  laws.  429 
Pericles  dies 427 


A    CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE.  227 

B.C. 

Plato  born 426 

Xerxes  killed  by  Artabanus 424 

NICIAS. — The    Athenians    undertake    the     Sicilian 

war 413 

Nicias  beaten  and  put  to  death  in  Sicily 411 

ALCIBIADES  takes  refuge  at  Sparta,  and  afterward 

amongst  the  Persians 410 

Dionysius  the  elder,  now  tyrant  of  Sicily 409 

Sophocles  dies,  aged  91 407 

Euripides  dies,  aged  75  406 

LYSANDER  puts  an  end  to  the  Peloponnesian  war, 

and  establishes  the  thirty  tyrants  at  Athens 403 

Thrasybulus  expels  them 402 

Alcibiades  put  to  death  by  order  of  Pharnabazus 401 

ARTAXERXES  MNEMON  overthrows  his  brother 
Cyrus  in  a  great  battle.     The  retreat  of   the  ten 

thousand  Greeks,  conducted  by  Xenophon 399 

Socrates  dies 398 

AGESILAUS  ascends  the  Spartan  throne 395 

Lysander  sent  to  the  Hellespont 394 

Agesilaus  defeats  the   Persian    cavalry.     Lysander 

dies 394 

The  Romans  lose  the  battle  of  Allia  387 

CAMILLUS  retires  to  Ardea 386 

Aristotle  born 382 

Demosthenes  born 381 

Chabrias  defeats  the  Lacedaemonians  374 

Peace  between  the  Athenians  and  Lacedaemonians. . .  369 

The  important  battle  of  Leuctra 369 

PELOPIDAS,  general  of  the  Thebans.    He  headed 
the  sacred  band  the  year  before  at  Leuctra,  where 

Epaminondas  commanded  in  chief. 368 

Dionysius  the  elder,  tyrant  of  Sicily,  dies,  and  is  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son 366 

Isocrates  flourishes 364 

TIMOLEON  kills  his  brother  Timophanes,  who  was 

setting  himself  up  as  tyrant  in  Corinth 363 

Pelopidas  defeats  Alexander,  the  tyrant  of  Pherae, 

but  falls  in  the  battle 363 


228  A    CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


B.C. 


The  famous  battle  of  Mantinea,  in  which  Epaminon- 
das,  though  victorious,  is  killed  by  the  son  of  Xeno- 

phon 361 

Camillus  dies 360 

Artaxerxes  dies.     So  does  Agesilaus 359 

DION  expels  Dionysius  the  younger 355 

Alexander  the  Great  born 353 

Dion  is  killed  by  Calippus 353 

DEMOSTHENES  begins  to  thunder   against  Philip. 

Xenophon  dies,  aged  90 350 

Plato  dies,  aged  80  or  81 346 

Timoleon  sent  to  assist  the  Syracusans 335 

Dionysius,  the  younger,  sent  off  to  Corinth 341 

Epicurus  born 339 

The  battle   of  Chaeronea,  in  which  Philip  beats  the 

Athenians  and  Thebans 336 

Timoleon  dies 335 

ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT  is  declared  general  of 
all  Greece  against  the  Persians,  upon  the  death  of 

his  father,  Philip 335 

The  battle  of  the  Granicus 334 

The  battle  of  Arbela 325 

Porus  beaten t. ..   326 

Diogenes  dies,  aged  90 324 

Alexander  dies,  aged  33 323 

Aristotle  dies,  aged  63 319 

PHOCION  retires  to  Polyperchon,  but  is  delivered 
up    by    him  to  the   Athenians,   who    put    him    to 

death 316 

EUMENES,  who  had  attained  to  a  considerable  rank 
amongst  the  successors  of  Alexander  the  Great,  is 

betrayed  to  Antigonus,  and  put  to  death 314 

DEMETRIUS,  surnamed  Poliocertes,  permitted  by 
his   father,    Antigonus,  to  command   the  army  in 

Syria,  when  only  twenty-two  years  of  age 312 

He  restores  the  Athenians  to  their  liberty,  but  they 
choose  to  remain   in  the  worst  of  chains,  those   of 

servility  and  meanness  305 

Dionysius,  the  tyrant,  dies  at  Heraclea,  aged  55 303 


A    CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE.  229 

B.C. 

In  the   year  before  Christ   288,  died  Theophrastus, 

aged  85 288 

And  in  the  year  before  Christ  285,  Theocritus  flour- 
ished     285 

PYRRHUS,  king  of  Epirus,  passes  over  into  Italy, 

where  he  is  defeated  by  Laevinus 272 

The  first  Punic  war,  which  lasted  24  years 263 

Philopoemen  born 252 

ARATUS,  of  Sicyon,  delivered  his  native  city  from 

the  tyranny  of  Nicocles 249 

AGIS  and  CLEOMENES,  contemporaries  with  Ara- 
tus,  for  Aratus  being  beaten  by  Cleomenes,  calls 
in  Antigonus  from  Macedonia,  which  proves  the 

ruin  of  Greece 225 

PHILOPC3MEN  30  years  old  when  Cleomenes  took 
Megalopolis.    About  this  time  lived  Hannibal,  Mar- 

cellus,  Fabius  Maximus,  and  Scipio  Africanus 221 

The  second  Punic  war,  which  lasted  18  years 217 

Hannibal  beats  the  consul  Flaminius  at  the  Thrasy- 

menean  lake; 215 

And  the  consuls  Varro  and  ^milius  at  Cannae 214 

He  is  beaten  by  Marcellus  at  Nola 212 

CATO  THE  CENSOR  was   21  or  22  years  old  when 

Fabius  Maximus  took  Tarentum.     See  above 214 

MARCELLUS  takes  Syracuse 21c 

FABIUS  MAXIMUS  seizes  Tarentum 207 

Fabius  Maximus  dies 201 

Scipio  triumphs  over  his  conquests  in  Africa 199 

TITUS  QUINCTIUS  FLAMINIUS  elected  consul  at 

the  age  of  30 196 

All  Greece  restored  to  her  liberty,  by  T.Q.  Flaminius. 
Flaminius    triumphs;    Demetrius,  the  son  of  Philip, 
and  Nabis,  tyrant  of  Lacedaemon,  follow  his  chariot.     194 

Cato  triumphs  over  his  conquests  in  Spain 193 

Scipio  Africanus  dies 182 

CAESAR  defeats  Pompey  at  Pharsalia 46 

Cato  the  younger  dies. 

Pompey  flies  into  Egypt,  and  is  assassinated  there.      46 

Cassar  makes  himself  master  of  Alexandria,  and  sub- 


230  A    CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 

B.C. 
dues  Egypt;  after  which  he   marches  into  Syria, 

and  soon  reduces  Pharnaces 45 

He  conquers  Juba,  Scipio,  and  Petreius,  in  Africa, 
and  leads  up  four  triumphs.     Previous  to   which, 

Cato  kills  himself 44 

Caesar  defeats  the  sons  of  Pompey  atMunda.  Cneius 
falls  in  the   action,  and    Sextus  flies  into   Sicily. 

Caesar  triumphs  the  fifth  time 43 

Cicero  died  in  his  64th  year 43 

BRUTUS.— Caesar  is  killed  by  Brutus  and  Cassius...      42 

Brutus  passes  into  Macedonia 41 

MARK  ANTONY  beaten  the  same  year  by  Augustus 
at  Modena.  He  retires  to  Lepidus.  The  triumvi- 
rate of  Augustus,  Lepidus,  and  Antony,  who  divide 

the  empire  amongst  them 41 

The  battle  of  Philippi,  in  which  Brutus  and  Cassius, 
being   overthrown  by   Augustus  and  Antony,  lay 

violent  hands  on  themselves 40 

Antony   leagues  with    Sextus,   the  son  of  Pompey, 

against  Augustus 39 

Augustus  and  Antony  renew  their  friendship  after 
the  death  of  Fulvia,  and  Antony  marries  Octavia.        38 

Augustus  and  Antony  again  embroiled 31 

The  battle  of  Actium.     Antony  is  beaten,  and  flies 

into  Egypt  with  Cleopatra 30 

Augustus    makes    himself    master    of    Alexandria. 

Antony  and  Cleopatra  destroy  themselves 30 

Horace  dies,  aged  57 8 

The  Christian  Era  begins. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Abantes 16 

Absolute  monarchy  37 

Achaean  league. . . .  222 

Acron  22 

Actium  (battle  of)  .  214 

Adrastus  19 

iEgos     P  o  t  a  m  o  s 

(battle  of)  102 

JEthra    15 

Agariste 50 

Agesilaus    133 

Agis   185 

Ajax 63 

Alcibiades 63,  102 

Alexander. . .  .    135,  154 

Allia  (river)   48 

Amazons 18 

Ambrones 100 

Aminias 44 

Anaxagoras   51 

Anaximenes 41 

Anio  (river)   50 

Antigonus   ....  132,  190 

Antiope 18 

Antium    58 

Antony  (Mark)  205,  211 

Apollo    223 

Apollonius    172 

Apothetse    28 


PAGE 

Aquarium   115 

Aratus    222 

Archidamus 52 

Archimedes 79 

Areopagus  .   38,  39,  200 

Ariadne 16,  17 

Ariamenes    43 

Aristides 42,  84 

Aristotle    156 

Artaxerxes   220 

Artemisium     (fight 

at)    43 

Artillerymen    82 

Asp  kills  Cleopatra  215 

Asparagus 175 

Attica 17 

Aventine,  Mount..     21 

Bath,  grooms  of  . .  165 

Battery  (naval)  .    .  79 

Battle  signal    147 

Beards  cut  off 16 

Bees    40 

Belgae 141 

Black  days    112 

Bloody  corn   58 

Boat  (punish 't) ....  221 

Bceotia 78 

Boroughs 34 


232 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Boundaries 18 

Brennus 48 

Bribery 69,  200 

Britain 175 

Britons  .  .  .  . 141 

Brundusium 146 

Brutus  (Marcus)  . .  218 
Bucephalus  155,  164,167 
Building  ruination .  123 
Bull's  blood  ....  45,  92 
Burials 31,  134,  223 

C^ecias 128 

Caesar,  Julius.    171,  219 

CaiusMarius 98 

Calendar 35,  181 

Calippus   217 

Camillus   45 

Candidates 69 

Casca 181,  219 

Cassius 219 

Catiline 203 

Cato  (Censor) 86 

Cato 143,  173,  207 

Cato  (the  younger)   183 

Celer 21 

Celeres    24,  32 

Celibacy 105 

Centaurs   19 

Ceres 66 

Chance 72 

Characitani 127 

Chariot  (triumph)  .     47 

Chickens 192 

Chief  priest 32 

Cicero    172,  202 

Cimon  ....  20,  42,  108 
Citium  (siege  of) . .  109 
Citizens' supper. . .   108 


PAGE 

Cleomenes    188 

Cleopatra    161,  179,  212 

Cleophylus   25 

Clinias   63 

Clothing 182 

Coalemos  (idiot)  . .  108 

Coat  of  mail 209 

Coinage  26 

Cold  wine 170 

Company  halls.  ...  34 

Coriolanus 67 

Corpses    31 

Corynetes   18 

Country  life 34 

Court  hall  18 

Crassus  (Marcus) . .  123 

Cretan  frugality. . .  25 

Crimesus  (river) ...  71 

Critias 66 

Crommyonian  Sow.  15 

Cross  and  snake. . .  191 

Crows  (omen)    ....  207 

Crucifixion,  a  ....  .  170 

Cunaxa  (battle  of)  .  221 

Curius 94 

Cyprus  209 

Cyprus  (Soli) 40 

Cyrus    169 

Cyrus  (the  younger)  102 

Damon   51 

Darius    157 

Dead  men  38 

Dead  soldiers 119 

Debt-cutters 38 

Debtors 118 

Delos 17 

Delphi 16,  17 

Delphinian  Apollo.  16 


INDEX. 


*33 


PAGE 

Demetrius 208 

Democracy 25 

Demosthenes, 

120,  157,  197 

Dice 64,  185 

Diet,  spare 28 

Diogenes 157 

Diomedes 214 

Dion 215 

Dionysius 216 

Ditches 39 

Draco's  laws    38 

Dress  of  women  ...  39 

Dust  in  war 129 

Earthquake 59 

Eclipses...   55,120,163 

Education 27 

Egypt's  queen  ...     179 
Elephants..   83,  95,  167 

Elephenor 20 

Eleusis 66 

Embalming 140 

Entertainments  142,  185 

Epaminondas 78 

Ephori 133,  891 

Epirus 93 

Epitaph  (Cyrus's) .    169 

Eubcea 42 

Eumolpidse 66 

Eumenes  130 

Euripides 65 

Execestides 36 

Fabii,  the 56 

Fabius  Maximus  .  .  56 

Falerians 58 

Falling  stars 103 

False  news 123 


PAGE 

Faustulus 21 

Favonius 145 

Fences  abolished  . .  104 

Fight  in  a  city  ....  96 

Fines    133 

Fire,  from  sun  ....  33 

Fires  in  city   123 

Fire  stones 58 

First  fruits  (hair)   .  16 

Fishing  (Antony)  .  214 
Flaminius,  T.  Q.  59,  91 

Flute,  the 64 

Fortune 72 

Fulvius 92 

Funeral  orations  39,  212 

Funerals    39 

Gaugamela    (battle 

of) 163 

Gauls,  at  Rome  ...  48 

Geese,  the  sacred.  .  49 

Good,  Phocionthe.  183 

Gracchus,  Caius...  194 

Gracchus,  Tiberius  192 

Guardians 197 

Gylippus    121 

Gymnastics 222 

Hair 16,  29 

Hannibal, 

58,  59,  60,  83,  92 
Head,     weight     in 

gold 196 

Helepoles    209 

Helicon    164 

Hephaestion    171 

Herodotus 19 

High  Court 39 

Hippoclus   77 


234 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Homer 25,  156 

Honest  man 216 

House  expenses  ...     54 
Husbandmen 18 

Idleness  punished.  38 

Illuminations 213 

Intramural  burials.  223 

Ion 54 

Isthmian  games  ...  18 

Janus  (temple  of)  .  36 

Jason 19 

Judicature 195 

Juno's  temple 46 

Just,  Aristides  the.  84 

Justice    216 

Labyrinth 17 

Lacedsemon    52 

Lamps    204 

Land,  division  of.  .     25 

Languages    213 

Laughter,  god  of  .  .     30 

Lawsuits 30 

Legion 21 

Lending  money  118,  185 

Leonidas 161 

Lesche 28 

Leuctra  (battle  of) 

78,  134 

Libraries 117,  178 

Lisping    63 

Livy    92 

Longimanus 220 

Lucullus 109 

Luxury 115 

Lycomedes 19,  44 

Lycurgus 24 

Lyre ,  the 64 


PAGE 

Lysander   66,  102 

Lysimachus    84 

Macedonia 78 

Malli,  the 168 

Manlius    92 

Marathonian  bull. .  16 

Marcellus 79 

Marcellus  (Caesar) .  144 

Marcius    32 

Marcus  Brutus  ....  218 

Marcus  Crassus  ...  123 

Marius    98 

Mark  Antony  .   205 ,  211 

Markets   195 

Marseilles   37 

Mathematics 82 

Meals    161 

Mechanics  (men)  . .  53 

Median  war 20 

Meleager 19 

Menestheus 19 

Messenia   78 

Milestones 196 

Military  tribunes.  .  46 

Mines  in  war 46 

Minotaur 16 

Minucius   61 

Mithridates   . .   139,  222 

Mithridatic  war  ...  33 

Mnemon 221 

Mourning 33 

Munda  (battle  of) . .  180 

Naval  fight 43 

Neoptolemus  . .   94,  131 

Nicias 118 

Nicon  (elephant)  . .     96 
Nightingale    29 


INDEX. 


235 


PAGE 

Nobleman  18 

Numa 31 

Oil-Trade  (Plato's)    37 

Olympias 52 

Olympic  games  .  42,  65 
Omens    ...   71,  103,  162 

Onion-head 51 

Oratory  (bar) 125 

Ostracism,  the  . .  45,  85 
Ox  (on  money)  ...  18 
Oxen  in  war   60 

Pagi,  or  boroughs  .  34 

Palatine  Hill 203 

Palm  (victor's) ....  17 

Parsley  as  an  omen  71 

Patricians    21 

Paulus^Emilius.  ..  73 

Pelopidas 77 

Peloponnesian  war, 

55,  103 

Pen,  poison  in  the  201 

People's  friend  ....  41 

Pericles    50 

Perpenna 130 

Perpetual  fire 33 

Perseus 74 

Petitions 210 

Phsedo 20 

Pharsalia  (battle  of) , 

151,  178,  206 

Philip 154,  223 

Philippi  (battle  of)  220 

Philippics    205 

Philochorus    19 

Philopcemen 90 

Phocion    182 

Pindar 43 


PAGE 

Pirates 137,  171 

Plato  182,  185,  205,  216 
Poison,  death  by, 

183,  201 

Polymachus    169 

Polytion   66 

Pompey 125,  135 

Pompey,  jun 207 

Pompey 's  statue, 

181,  219 

Pomponius    32 

Pontifices,  the  ....  33 
Pontifix  Maximus.  .     32 

Pontius 48 

Presages 192 

Prodigies 58 

Proserpine 66 

Prytaneum    18 

Ptolemy 153,  208 

Publicola 40,  41 

Public  tables 26 

Public  works 53 

Publius 142 

Purple  robe 209 

Pydna  (battle  of)  . .  74 
Pyrrhus    93 

Quirites 31 

Quoits 27 

Remonium    21 

Remus    21 

Republic 222 

Riot,  a 194 

Roads 195 

Rome  rebuilt    50 

Rome  taken 48 

Romulus 20 

Rubicon 145,  177 


236 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Sabine  women  . .  .22,  23 

Sacred  lamp 106 

Sacrifices   161 

Salamis  (battle  of)     43 

Sambuca    81 

Sarpedon   184 

Schinocephalus    ...     50 

Scipio   142 

Sciron  15 

Secretaries    .......    175 

Senate 22,  25 

Serpents 191 

Sertorius 126 

Sight-seeing   196 

Sinnis 15 

Socrates.. 65 

Solon 36 

Soothsayers 219 

Sosicles 44 

Spain  (Caesar  in)  .  .  172 
Spartan  simplicity.  186 
Speeches  (Phocion '  s) , 

182 

Spies 127,  217 

Spleen,  cure  for  ...     94 

Stammering    199 

Strangers 124 

Superstitions...   51,  170 

Supper    190 

Sylla  ....  101,  105,  135 
Syracuse  (siege  of) , 

70,  79,  119 

Tarentines,  the  ...  94 

Teeth  (curious)    ...  94 

Teleclides    51 

Thasymenus  (lake)  59 

Theatricals 52 

Thebes 19 


PAGE 

Themistocles 42 

Theodorus 66 

Theseus    15 

Thessalus 66 

Thirty  tyrants    66 

Thrushes   116 

Thucydides 52,  57 

Tile  kills  Pyrrhus,  a  97 

Timoleon 70 

Titus  Flaminius  ...  91 

Toga  virilis 219 

Tomb  of  Cyrus  ....  169 
Trade  companies  .  .  34 
Trades  (various)  .  .  53 
Treats  and  gratui- 
ties    69 

Trebia  (battle  of)  .  .  58 

Tree-planting 39 

Triumph,  a 74 

Triumphs 140 

Trojan  war 20 

Trophy,  war 22 

Truce  for  burying. .  19 

Turpentine    221 

Tuscany 58 

Tusculum 86 

Tyndaridse    .......  19 

Tyre  (siege  of)  ....  161 

Valerius  Flaccus  .  87 

Veii  (siege  of) 46 

Veni,  vidi,  vici  ....  179 

Verrucosus 56 

Vest 211 

Vestal  virgins 33 

Vetch 202 

Vinegar  as  a  drink.  S7 

Virgins'  exercises.  .  27 

Votes  sold 176 


INDEX. 


237 


PAGE 

Wealth   (Solon's) .  37 

Widows  (soldiers')  46 

Wills, 39 

Wine  bath 28 

Wolf  (Romulus)    . .  21 

Women  (laws)   ....  39 

Women  in  war  ....  100 
Wrestlers. ...  27,  64,  90 


PAGE 

Xanthippus 50 

Xerxes 43,  115 

Year,  days  in 35 


Zama  (battle  of) 
Zela  (battle  of) . 
Zeno 


92 
179 

5i 


COMMON  ERRORS 
WRITING  and  SPEAKING 

WHAT   THEY   ARE    AND   HOW   TO   AVOID   THEM 

WITH    A    PRACTICAL   TREATISE    OX 

PRONUNCIATION   AND  PUNCTUATION 

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THE   YOUTH'S 

Classical  Dictionary 

FOR    BOYS   AND    GIRLS 

Containing 

Brief  and   Accurate   Accounts   of  the  Proper  Names 

Mentioned  in  Classical  Literature 

Edited  with.  Introduction 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS,  M.A. 

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THE   YOUTH'S 

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Containing 

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